Silent House (15)

Film

Thrillers

Elisabeth Olsen, right, in Silent House

Elisabeth Olsen, right, in Silent House

Time Out rating:

<strong>Rating: </strong>2/5

User ratings:

<strong>Rating: </strong>3/5
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Time Out says

Tue May 1 2012

This is an unimaginative ‘re-imagining’ of ‘La Casa Muda’, a low-budget Uruguayan horror movie from 2011 that was allegedly shot in one continuous take. The ‘real terror in real time’ gimmick of the original was a sleight of hand, of course, and the same is true here: despite many additional light sources, there are still plenty of dark shadows in which sly edits can be hidden. In this version, the camera has a distracting obsession with Elizabeth Olsen’s cleavage, but the star of ‘Martha Marcy May Marlene’ gives a committed,  convincing performance as Sarah, a young woman assailed by strange noises and creepy apparitions in her family’s neglected summer house.

Instead of adding the redundant character of Sarah’s childhood friend, Sophia (Julia Taylor Ross), filmmakers Chris Kentis and Laura Lau (‘Open Water’) should have plugged the original’s plot holes and straightened out its logic. There is also a confusing tendency to blur the line between supernatural phenomena and the more tangible, twisted family secrets conveniently blanked out by the film’s amnesiac heroine.

Author: Nigel Floyd

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Release details

Rated:

15

UK release:

Fri May 4 2012

Duration:

85 mins

Cast and crew

Director:

Gustavo Hernández, Laura Lau, Chris Kentis

Cast:

Eric Sheffer Stevens, Adam Trese, María Salazar, Florencia Colucci, Abel Tripaldi, Gustavo Alonso, Elizabeth Olsen

Screenwriter:

Laura Lau

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Comments & ratings

Rated as: 3/5 (4 ratings)

  • There's only so much of watching a girl run from room to room screaming I can take (about 20 minutes). Using words like 'boring' and 'repetitive' does not quite describe just how bad this film is. The biggest problem I have with this film is the poor camerawork. It's not so much shaky-cam (that I can handle - I love the Bourne movies) but just bad filming. The dim lighting and poor shot composition make it difficult for the viewer to see what has actually happened. Shooting inadequate coverage of a scene does not 'highten tension' as the directors thought it would. It leaves the audience wondering 'what just happened?' After thinking this for the 15th time, my patience had worn out. I get the whole 'real-time/ continuous take' aspect of the film - but it's not done well enough to make the film interesting.

    Marsellus Thu May 10 2012
    Rated as: 1/5
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  • much better than expected despite some loopholes and far better than cabin in woods in every possible way as this is more psychological cinema than dependent on schmaltzy rubber monsters and clumsy zombies and the acting by the female lead is rivetting

    USMAN LATIF KHAWAJA Mon May 7 2012
    Rated as: 3/5
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  • Great central performance, nicely sustained tension throughout. 7/10

    scrumpyjack Sat May 5 2012
    Rated as: 3/5
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  • Really enjoyed this film and enjoyment was enhanced by being recorded by a hand held Canon eos 5d(£230.00 Quid thesesdays).If i'm reading the story correctly,a young lady had a bit of a tragic time and had simply 'gone mental' which i think explains the Demonic look on her face as she searched through the house,leaving the viewer wondering what she was looking for.I think..i finally worked it out.I liked the use of mirrors,which ca create a sinister atmosphere.

    John Ashdown Thu Feb 2 2012
    Rated as: 5/5
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  • The limitation is with the recording media, not the camera itself.

    Jerry Atrick Thu Apr 14 2011
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  • That's odd, because I queried this with a guy on the Canon technical help number, who checked and double-checked. I said that i had heard the limit was 12 minutes, but he said otherwise. Either way, it's clear that the director's cliam to have shot the entire film in one take is a spurious one. That said, it the action does unfold in 'real time', although the official press notes acknowledge that the film took four days to shoot. Surely, if it truly were one take, it would only have taken 72 minutes.

    Nigel Floyd Thu Apr 7 2011
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  • 12 minutes (approx.), not one hour, is the maximum continuous HD recording time on the Canon 5D Mark II. This is limited by the 4GB maximum file size of the camera's FAT32 filesystem format. This implies that there are at least 5 pauses in the footage, although these could be less than one second long.

    Terry Payman Wed Apr 6 2011
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