Silent House (2011)

The US version of the Uruguayan/Spanish original film.

Director: Chris Kentis, Laura Lau
Cast: Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese, Eric Sheffer Stevens
Genre: Psychological Thriller
Certificate Rating: 15
Rating: 3/5


*Warning this synopsis will contain spoilers!*

Just to clarify one important thing about this film, the entire movie was shot to mimic real time. It was shot in 10 minute "chunks" which were then edited to hide the cuts and make it as realistic as possible.

The audience first see a young girl walking from the rocks to an old derelict house with bordered up windows, which we learn were vandalised by miscreants in the local area. The young girl, Sarah (Elizabeth Olsen), is at the house with her father and her uncle as they are trying to refurbish the house to be sold. The father (Adam Trese) and Sarah's uncle (Eric Sheffer Stevens) notice mould in the walls and possibly inside most of the house. Due to the windows being bordered up, the house is very dark and limited light is available, they use electric lanterns to see their way around the house.
Uncle Peter goes into town leaving the father to work on the basement and Sarah to lock up the house. Sarah hears a knock at the door and finds Sophia, a girl similar aged to Sarah, who were best friends when they were younger. Sarah who doesn't remember Sophia claims she has holes in her memory, yet they plan to meet up later that night to reminisce on their childhood years together. Sarah then locks up the house once more and puts the key on the hook.

Sarah lights two oil lamps and suddenly hears a thump from upstairs. Knowing her father is in the basement she yells for them both to investigate upstairs. Upstairs her father tries to spook her but not before Sarah notices polaroid pictures lying about. Her father snatches them up before she gets a good look. Her dad then asks her to clear out what was once Sarah's bedroom; as she sorts out her stuff she comes across a ballerina/tutu skirt and a locked box with no key. Suddenly she hears a loud bang from outside the bedroom, she shouts for her father but hears no response. She goes looking for her Dad and finds no one or nothing, she finds that the key is gone from the hook and begins to search for the key and a way out. In the background a mysterious figure is watching her, yet when she turns in that direction he has disappeared. Heavy footsteps are then apparent and Sarah runs to hide under the table, while doing so she knocks over a beer bottle. The heavy footsteps stop and a hand picks up the beer bottle. Sarah scared for her life thinks the person has gone but they grab her leg, she runs away and barricades herself in an upstairs bedroom.

Hiding in the bedroom she begins working on an escape, she learns the windows are useless. A body falls to the ground, her father who is unconscious and injured. Sarah nurses him and finds he has the key, she grabs the electric lantern and heads out of the bedroom. She realises that the key is for none of the doors and heads into the basement where she is in total darkness and the electric lantern does not cast much light. Sarah stumbles across a room in the basement containing an unmade bed. At this moment she hears heavy footsteps once again and hides in the basement from the unknown figure who the audience see carrying an electric lantern. The audience hear the footsteps going back upstairs to the main level and Sarah eventually finds a door leading to outside of the house, but she fails to open it, the heavy footsteps are present again and it is a race against time as Sarah struggles to unlock the door.

Sarah luckily flees out into the open, finally finding the road leading to the house. As she is searching the surroundings she spots a young girl standing near to Sarah in the bushes. As she screams a car nearly collides with Sarah. Her Uncle gets her into the car and claims he saw no young girl anywhere. Sarah distressed talks about what happens and realises she has blood on her from her father who is still in the house. Uncle Peter informs Sarah that they need to go back to the house to get her dad. Sarah protests and stays in the car as her Uncle gets out a gun and heads into the house. Sarah still distressed notices a figure in the rear view mirror, who disappears as she turns around. Suddenly the boot of the car opens and the figure crawls inside. Sarah panics and heads inside where she locks the door with Uncle Peters key. Sarah shows Peter where her father was, however he is no longer there. Peter and Sarah begin searching, Peter finds more polaroids and hides them from Sarah's eyes. Suddenly the lights go out and Sarah finds the polaroid camera which she uses to create light and sees the mysterious man attacking Uncle Peter and the little girl watching. Sarah hides under the table in the room and hallucinates. She sees a little girl's legs hanging off the table wearing the tutu, followed by a two pairs of mens legs walking around the table taking pictures of the girl. Sarah is brought back to reality where she witnesses her uncle being dragged away by this unknown figure.

Sarah follows her Uncle's body as it is being dragged, the figure is watching and waiting for her in which Sarah runs and hides in a bedroom under the bed. The little girl is next to her under the bed and is dragged out from underneath. Sarah runs into the bathroom and sees the little girl in the bathtub surrounded by beer bottles. The image is distorted to the girl sitting in a tub of beer bottles and blood. Sarah in distress flees the bathroom and heads downstairs where she meets Sophia, her friend from childhood, who is holding a key and claims it is not to the front door but "to a way out". Sarah runs around the house looking for a way out until she enters the dining room where her father is strapped and bound to a chair. Sophia says Sarah needs to remember what she forgot and passes her the red box. Sarah turns and sees not herself in the mirror but the young girl. The box contains polaroids of Sarah as a young girl and she realises that her hallucinations were what truly happened to her. Suddenly the figure drags Uncle Peter into the dining room and morphs into Sarah. Sophia explains that Sarah has done all of this, she hands Sarah and knife at which she lashes out, only to injure Sophia's hand and strangely her own hand. Suddenly Sophia, the figure and the young girl and no longer there.
After realising her father and her Uncle were involved in taking the photos, she confronts her father asking whether they want to play now or to be quiet "in case they wake Mom". She then comes back around and frees her father who then hits her to the ground. Uncle Peter then aims the knife at Sarah's father in which he knocks it out of his hands mocking Peter saying "he always loved the show".
Sarah is then behind her father and kills him with a sledgehammer. She then leaves the house and Uncle Peter fearing for his life.

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My friend and I watched this as she got it from 'Love Film'. We were being silly and scaring ourselves before the menu to the movie had started. We even filmed our reactions to the film (which involved my friend hiding behind a cushion and myself covering my ears). We realised at the end that we had just scared ourselves silly! First of all I like the use of the film being shot in 10 minute segments, similar to Hitchcock's film Rope (1948). The editing and use of camerawork is amazing. When watching you forget that a camera man is following the characters throughout the house. This was a very good film at creating suspense and I admit we were very tense all the way through until the big reveal which was a huge shock and "Oh I get it now, that makes sense" moment. From the beginning there was something very "sit on the edge of your seat" nerving about the film, maybe the use of no non-diegetic sound, except the hums to build tension, and thus creating the sense of realism. Little noises would make us jump, or we were expecting things to happen which wouldn't. Little things created enigma codes such as the photos her father hides and the locked box and the creepy mysterious guy that all leads up to the bigger picture. When Sarah uses the polaroid camera to create light in the black out room is very cleverly created, also quite scary as the audience are produced with flashes of what is happening in the room. I love the plot twist at the end that Sarah actually did all of the events which took place, due to her split personality. Leaving the audience still with unanswered questions such as whether Sophia was real, and if the audience were viewing from the Sarah as the victim perspective. The idea of leaving Uncle Peter being left fearing for his life leaves the audience questioning what will happen to him. The idea on the father and Uncle being pedophiles is quite horrific and makes you realise that they are not the helpless but the true villains of the story. Overall a good film, but once you've watched it and know the plot twist then it's ruined for you. The first time is the best viewing.

Enjoy x

IMDb:  Silent House