House at the End of the Street — Film Review
As a massive Jennifer Lawrence fan, I am part of the she-can-do-no-wrong club. Coming off of a fantastic award season, resulting in an Oscar for best actress, I thought she was untouchable. Then, I watched House at the End of the Street. Do not get me wrong, Lawrence is a fantastic actress, and it is not subpar acting from her that sunk this ship; it is pretty much everything else. The film is terribly written, poorly shot, and unbelievably not scary. This is a shame, seeing as it is a horror film.
Released in 2012, House at the End of the Street stars Lawrence as Elissa, a teenager with a chip on her shoulder, and Elisabeth Shue as Sarah, her mother. The pair moves into a home in a new town, right next door to the house where a horrific tragedy occurred years before. It turns out the only survivor of this family tragedy, the son Ryan, still lives in the house and is a recluse because everyone in town thinks he is a freak. The first thing I noticed (and hated) about this movie was how it was written to include virtually no plot or character development. This is not an Oscar nominee, but some development would benefit the audience — plot, and character development aid viewers in connecting with the story and its characters. House at the End of the Street introduces its few key players and instantly gives them stories and characteristics, like a list on the back of a Clue character’s card…
