by Dani Norton
Staff writer
“Silent House” is a remake of the 2010 Uruguay film of the same name. It is a ghost story of sorts, starring Elizabeth Olsen. There are several very intense moments, but her performance is really what makes this movie as entertaining as it is.
Olsen stars as Sarah, a young woman visiting her family’s summer home with her father, played by Adam Trese. He disappears, and Sarah is left on her own in the darkness of the huge house with an inexplicable number of creaky doors and shadowy corners.
She begins to hear scratching, breathing, scuttling and various other creepy noises that suggest she is not as alone as she thought.
The ghost story gets pretty heavy at this point, though the scares are nothing we haven’t seen before.
After the first half of the movie, it becomes apparent that storytelling has been abandoned in favor of cheap thrills. That works here since we usually don’t go see this kind of movie expecting anything different.
The resolution felt forced and, perhaps, a bit slapped together, but that didn’t make the movie altogether unsatisfying.
“Silent House” is watchable for two reasons. When the trailers for the film were released, the gimmick was that this movie was shot as one continuous scene. It boasted 85 minutes of uninterrupted terror, a feat that would have been impressive if executed properly.
As it turns out, directors Chris Kentis and Laura Lau did not film the entire thing in one take. Instead, it was a series of about 10 shots that were, admittedly, expertly edited together to appear continuous.
It was disappointing to learn that what made this movie so appealing to begin with wasn’t actually genuine, but the editing gave it the same feel.
The most commendable thing about “Silent House” is Olsen’s incredibly convincing performance.
Younger sister to Mary-Kate and Ashley, Elizabeth Olsen used this past year to prove that she can stand on her own two feet, out of her sisters’ shadows.
With the release of “Martha Marcy May Marlene” in 2011, Olsen surprised audiences and critics alike with her breakout performance as a woman who had just escaped from an abusive cult.
She spent the duration of the film trying to re-assimilate to life with her family after being brainwashed and abused. Olsen was nominated for just about every award under the sun for this role, and it was well deserved.
In “Silent House,” Olsen brings the same sort of panic and tension felt in “Martha,” only this time it is more intense and constant.
What she does seems effortless, not overdone or corny. Her face conveys terror more effectively than most horror movie heroines can muster with a blood curdling scream.
She is believable, and that is what makes for frightening entertainment.
“Silent House” is not a perfect film by any means, but it gets the job done despite a plot hole or two and an unconvincing resolution.
Olsen is building quite an impressive resume, and it will be interesting to see what else she is capable of.