The Open House (2018) Review

Or as it should really be called, "Cliché: The Movie".



The Open House follows high schooler, Logan Wallace (Dylan Minnette).  After his father is killed in a car accident, Logan and his mother, Naomi (Piercey Dalton), leave their home to stay in Naomi's sister's mountain vacation home, so they can get back on their feet.  The house is up for sale, so every so often Logan and Naomi have to leave the house so the realtor can host an open house.  Strange things begin to happen, objects move around the house, the hot water goes out frequently, they receive weird phone calls.  Is it one of the strange townsfolk messing with them, or is there somebody inside their house?

What Works:

I'll be honest, very little of this movie works, but I have two positives.  One: the acting is good.  Everyone does a fine job with the material they are given.  The standout is Dylan Minnette, who gives a great performance as the grieving and frustrated Logan.

The only other positive I have is the setting.  The chilly mountain landscape is beautiful and the exterior scenes have a frosty atmosphere.

What Sucks:

This movie sucks.  For the most part, it's so f*****g boring.  Nothing of interest happens until about an hour and 15 minutes into the movie.  This was tough to sit through because it simply wasn't holding my interest.

Everything that does happen in The Open House we've seen before.  Not only has it been done before, but it's been done much better.  The scares are minimal.  The suspects are not intriguing.  There is nothing new here.

Finally, the ending is insulting.  Spoilers: the bad guy gets away with it.  Logan accidentally kills his mother, then he runs through the woods all night, only to collapse from exhaustion and the killer murders him off-screan.  What a waste of time.  Not only did I sit through this boring-ass movie, but the ending isn't even mildly satisfying.  I don't mind an ending where the hero dies, but at least show it to us, or make us care about the character so much that we are devastated when we die.  I really didn't care much about Logan, but his death was just frustrating.

Verdit:

 This movies does not have it going on.  It's boring, insulting, and frustrating.  Do not go to this open house under any circumstances.

 2/10: Terrible. 

 


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