Open House (1987)

Overrated and overhyped

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Written and directed by Indian exploitation film-maker Jag Mundhra, Open House stars Joseph Bottoms as radio psychologist Dr. David Kelley, who suspects that one of his crazier callers might be the serial killer currently targeting Los Angeles' female real estate agents. Adrienne Barbeau co-stars as Kelley's girlfriend, a successful realtor destined to come face-to-face with the sniggering, dog-food eating lunatic before the closing credits roll.In keeping with its real estate theme, one viewing of this silly late-'80s slasher is definitely more than enough: it's extremely dated, lacks original features, and is missing the 'wow factor' so sorely needed in such an overcrowded market. The direction is flat, the storyline drags, there is very little in the way of genuine suspense, and the gore is limited to a couple of unconvincing severed fingers (which are chopped off with a makeshift weapon constructed from a sink plunger and some razor blades!) and a decapitated head.4.5 out of 10, generously rounded up to 5 for the obligatory female nudity (which comes from a busty dominatrix who takes a nude swim, and Barbeau, who gives fans a brief glimpse of her ample rack), the hilariously camp radio station employee (just in case you're in any doubt about his sexuality, he wears a pink shirt), the bizarre kitten stroking scene, and sexy Christina Gallegos as doomed realtor Pilar Hernandez, who gets the shock of her life when she bumps into the killer.

Rare-Slashers-Rated-2 described this one pretty well. The early scenes, even though they weren't especially effective, of someone killing themself in a phone both while on line to a radio program, and of the discovery of a very bloody bathroom might lead one to believe the rest of the movie will carry on in that way, but not so. There are a lot of tedious scenes and the soundtrack at times sounds like a very poor TV movie.The revelation of the killer is disappointing. The killer also gives a rather lengthy speech, yawn.Still, Adrienne Barbeau fans might like to check it out.

Lisa Grant (Adrienne Barbeau) is a real estate agent who finds herself in jeopardy of getting killed by a deranged maniac who kills people in her profession who he feels make house prices too high. As motives go, this is pretty damn retarded. Lisa's boyfriend happens to be a talk show host whom the killer keeps calling on-air. At first I was positive this was supposed to be a comedy or satire of some kind, but as the endless minutes drone on and on, I realized that it wasn't and the film was just grossly incompetent in every way, shape, and form. I'm just surprised that something this horrid wasn't directed by Jeff Lieberman (yea, email me some hate mail again, Jeff you hack) Anyway, back to the film, poor, poor Barbeau, you can pinpoint EXACTLY when her film career went down in flames and it all started here.My Grade: F Where I saw it: The Movie Channel

Low-rent slasher movie about real estate agents being slaughtered by a maniac in the homes they are selling. The local radio talk show host receives strange calls from the killer. The slasher story of a maniac picking off real estate agents is original enough for this genre, however, the filmmakers just can't seem to bring this thing to life. It starts off promising with a bloody double killing in a bathroom and scenes of a dead bloody woman covered in flies, but after the first half hour mark, everything goes stale. Boring characters, and stupid situations hamper the story telling. Things start to get rolling again in the last 20 minutes, but by then it's to little, to late. Features gratuitous nudity, boring conversations, and a couple whacked to death with razorblades attached to a toilet plunger (the highlight). Should be fine for a single view by the avid slasher viewer. Otherwise, stay away. Two Stars.