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House

House (2008)

November. 07,2008
|
4.5
|
R
| Horror

Trying to recover from the nearly marriage-breaking stress following the death of their child, Jack (Reynaldo Rosales) and Stephanie (Heidi Dippold) spontaneously take off on a road trip. But when their car breaks down in a remote area, they find themselves in a horrific nightmare. Seeking shelter in a house, they soon realize that more danger lurks inside than outside in this spine-chiller based on Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti's best-seller.

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Reviews

Actuakers
2008/11/07

One of my all time favorites.

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Thehibikiew
2008/11/08

Not even bad in a good way

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Contentar
2008/11/09

Best movie of this year hands down!

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Staci Frederick
2008/11/10

Blistering performances.

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Jared Midwood
2008/11/11

Keep in mind that I watched House having already read the book by Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti. In keeping with what reviewers have already said, the book was exponentially better; it was truly terrorizing, and well-paced with fantastic memorable characters. Frankly put, it was one of the best books I have read and probably one of the top 5 killer thrillers of all time. The spiritual message was also strong and unambiguous. But this is not a review on the book, so moving on ...To be fair, House the movie never had a chance of succeeding since it was crippled by the typical Christian movie low budget. It achieved slightly more than the dreadful Left Behind films, but was much worse than recent religious movies such as God's Not Dead and even Dekker's other famous movie Thr3e.The story of house is horrific and not for the squeamish, but this real terror never came through in the movie. It is not even that scary. The R rating is absolutely absurd; it could have passed for PG if it had come about via mainstream Hollywood. There is no blood, sex, and the only curse is "hell" once. What is the R for? Apparently pure shock value.Michael Madsen is wasted as the psychopathic Tin Man. In the book the killer - otherwise known as Barsidious White - is a terrifying madman and one of the most memorable modern literary villains. But in the movie he is just corny. The mask is horrendously done, his jerky movements are humorous, and the stupid voice overs are reminiscent of a low budget Indie horror flick. The Tin Man never really gets going, and his dialogue is forced and stale.The members of the house are fairly scary, although Betty is a bit stereotypical. Pete makes a decent sex pervert chasing after one of the refugees, and Bill Moseley's excellent performance as Stewart is responsible for at least 2 of the 4 stars I gave the movie.The travelers themselves are fairly lame, although they look the part. As soon as Randy opens his mouth you can tell he is a soap opera dufus. Jack and Stephanie are too attractive to be taken seriously, and Leslie would be a good actor if it weren't for her perpetual cheesy grin. The acting by all four ultimately falls flat.Susan, the angel trapped in the house who ultimately sacrifices her life for the good of the others, is a bright spot about halfway through the movie. True, she is too cute to be taken seriously as a victim of a deranged serial killer, but she plays the part well and is probably the strongest character in the movie besides Stewart. The depth of her sacrifice is not lost on the movie's viewers, even in the midst of the tragically bad filmmaking.The music in the movie is pretty good, but the actual visual effects are pretty lame and the quality of the picture is not so hot. The dialogue falls into soap opera cheesiness at times, but for the most part it is not horrible. The plot is based loosely on the book but is not always representative of the ideals Peretti and Dekker were trying to convey. God is not mentioned much, if at all, and the spiritual side of the story is missing. Keep in mind that the Hollywood depravity of most horror thrillers is also missing, refreshingly.Perhaps this movie would have been better if the directors and producers had not deviated so much from the plot of the novel, and if they had maintained the spiritual aspect of the narrative. The book was dynamic, the movie falls short.Labelled as a horror movie, House is not so much horror as it is blandly scary. The producers throw in some pentagrams and 666's for good measure, but even the Satanism of the house's inhabitants is not that scary. It just seems silly. Without spoiling the outcome of the movie, there is also a fair amount of bloodless killing, but it is somewhat expected and not that shocking.One aspect of the movie I enjoyed was the LOST-esque flashbacks to the "sins" of the four characters. Melissa's death is heart-wrenching, and the revelation that Leslie was raped by her uncle elicits some sympathy for her character. At least the brass behind the movie got this film technique right.Overall, House is not a bad movie, but it is not an especially good one. It falls a tad flat for the most part, but it is worth a watch. Go into it not expecting much, and you should get at least some mild enjoyment out of it. The younger you watch it the more you will like it. And the less experienced of a horror fan you are the more scared you will be.To borrow the story's catchphrase, the only way out is in ...

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hi_im_manic
2008/11/12

6.5/10 Most adults are familiar with the old hit song "Hotel California" by the Eagles, but not as many are aware of the dual interpretation of its' meaning. "Hotel California" was the whimsical nickname ascribed to Charles Manson's infamous kill-cult, but additionally it's a very clear metaphor for hell. Lyrics enchant us with phrases such as "We are just prisoners here, of our own devise" and "you can check out any time you'd like, but you can never leave". You will see exactly how those words are played out within this film. The four guests within this story are about to experience their own personal versions of hell where they are forced to relive their most torturous moments and face becoming trapped within them forever. Each person has been overwhelmed by guilt, regret, or shame at some point in time, so none are exempt from the maniacal torments that the house imposes upon them. The story begins familiarly, with an argumentative couple traveling through unfamiliar rural territory. Mishaps occur and they become stranded on the road and their cell-phones have no service...of course. A short walk through torrential rain brings them to a large, gated inn. Inside, they are met by another couple who've also been stranded by the roadside. The four-some discover a formal dining table already set for four and shortly after-wards, the power goes out so the men set forth to find the fuse-box. About that time, their hosts make themselves known, and these hosts are immediately creepy as hell itself. Madness ensues mid-dinner, so grip your seats and hold tight for this fast-paced thriller! ---------------I get the impression that this film intends to be smarter than it actually is. It's sort of like a 3rd grader who managed to cheat very well and is skipped forward to middle-school like a lamb to slaughter. I think that the writer and director, whilst VERY GOOD at their craft, undertook a project that was perhaps a bit too advanced per their experience levels. It seems attempt psycho-horror, but only manages so within the characters as it relates to the story.The story is original, although it pays some obvious homage to horror and thriller films of the not-so-old. Think of House of 1000 corpses and House on Haunted Hill and about half a dozen other semi-recent films of this genre and the filmmakers inspirations become quite clear. This isn't a fault necessarily, it just means many of the genre fans aren't going to be as intrigued as "popular viewers" may be. I thought that the camera and editing was an A+ endeavor. Set & costume maybe a B. Dialogue and presentation a solid B, FX a C+. Sound quality and lighting is an A. So really, high ratings all-around, especially so for a lesser-known film that encountered budget restrictions. The characters were fairly-well developed, and the pacing was nearly ideal (a bit aggressive at times). The acting was average to above-average, with a few shining moments from particular actresses. Flashbacks, though necessary (and normally obtrusive) were minimal and provided the audience with just enough of an "Oh, uh-huh!". I'm glad to have found this little jewel and to have invested some of My Friday watching it. Suggested watching is alone or with a close friend/partner. Kick the kids out, turn down the lights and settle down with a cocktail and bucket of popcorn. I recommend it if you're not seeking out a blockbusting hit type of night.

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Desiree
2008/11/13

I was excited to see house because it seemed pretty creepy from the previews. I should have learned by now that scary movies are not all that scary.House was basically a mixture of House of Wax and any other crappy "terrifying" teen movie you can think of. The plot did not make sense at all. I don't know if you can even call it a plot. At first it was set up as a serial killer movie and then out of nowhere there were demons or ghosts, which was baffling to me.The house or the Tin Man, not quite sure, fed off of the couple's fears or past experiences. Throughout the film we were present with a few small mysteries that were never explained. I don't know if the writers forgot to add it in or they just didn't care to add logic. But I didn't care enough to be bothered by that.There was a character, Susan that held a fairly important role. Her reason for being, who she was, or where she came from was never explained. House wasn't scary and it didn't make much sense. Is there any scary movie with an actual plot out there?I have been on the search for the scariest movie ever made and have been failing miserably. Though, Paranormal Activity was probably the best I have seen thus far. The Ring scared me to death but I know I am just an idiot and scared myself. The Exorcist is too old school. Didn't do it for me.Send me recommendations of what you believe to be a truly successful terrifying film.

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JoeB131
2008/11/14

but I've seen this one before! There was this movie called "Reaker" a few years ago that had exactly the same setup. People involved in an auto accident find themselves in a surreal situation where they are pursued by a menacing force. They wake up to discover that they were at the gates of hell, and the other people who failed to get away were in fact "killed" in the accident.Still, the setup is kind of interesting, where a married couple with a troubled past are the protagonists of the situation. The movie drags in places, but otherwise isn't that bad for a direct to DVD. It has Michael Madsen in it, but he isn't as insufferable as he normally is.

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