The Open House
| The Open House | |
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| Directed by |
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| Cinematography | Filip Vandewal |
| Edited by | Bradley McLaughlin |
| Music by | Joseph Shirley |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
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Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
The Open House is a 2018 American horror film written and directed by Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote. The film stars Dylan Minnette, Piercey Dalton, Sharif Atkins, Patricia Bethune, and Aaron Abrams. The film was released on Netflix on January 19, 2018.
Plot
When a suburban father is killed by being hit by a car whose driver appeared to have had a heart attack, his family struggles to come to terms with their loss. Unemployed and financially unable to support herself and her teenage son Logan, Naomi agrees to move into her sister's secluded mountain chalet until it sells. Upon moving into the beautiful home, Naomi and Logan encounter their elderly neighbor, Martha, who behaves strangely, and Chris, a pleasant store clerk.
During the open house days on Sunday, Naomi and Logan are required to leave the property at breakfast and return after 5 p.m. A series of strange occurrences begin. Objects are moved or disappear, the house phone rings but nobody speaks, the pilot to the hot water tank repeatedly gets shut off, and there are unexplained noises. One night, Logan sees a car idling in the driveway. Outside, he finds Martha, who behaves erratically. Martha later alludes to her deceased husband being alive.
A repairman is called to inspect the faulty hot water tank. He reveals that Martha's husband really did die and Martha has Alzheimer's, leading to her confusion. Naomi is crushed when she finds a photo of the family crumpled up in the trash. The repairman finds Logan's missing phone near the water heater, leading Naomi to believe that Logan had been messing with her. The two have a heated argument and he denies messing with her and destroying the photo. That night, it is revealed that there is someone else lurking in the home. One day, Naomi and Logan find that their home has been broken into and someone set up a candle light dinner on the table, but the police found nothing. Unable to afford a hotel, the mother and son are forced to remain in the house.
Logan contacts Chris, who agrees to spend the night on the couch. In the middle of the night, Logan finds Chris with his throat slashed in his car. An unidentified man knocks Logan unconscious, pours water over him and leaves him to the harsh winter elements while he goes after Naomi. Naomi is horrified to discover photos of her, and Logan, sleeping in their beds. She is then attacked, bound and tortured (the intruder is shown breaking some of her fingers). Logan wakes and finds that all phones have had their sim cards removed and snapped when he attempts to call 911 for help. He rushes to help his mother, but mistakes her for the intruder and stabs her. Naomi tells him to run before collapsing. The intruder easily overpowers Logan and removes his contact lenses, leaving Logan unable to see clearly.
Logan escapes into the woods and hides. He survives the freezing elements until morning. Succumbing to hypothermia, he drags himself to a stream. The intruder reveals himself, grabs Logan as he struggles and screams, and strangles him to death. As we see his lifeless body by the stream, the unidentified man drives towards the next open house event.
Cast
- Dylan Minnette as Logan Wallace, Naomi’s son
- Piercey Dalton as Naomi Wallace, Logan’s mother
- Sharif Atkins as Chris
- Patricia Bethune as Martha
- Aaron Abrams as Brian Wallace, Logan's father
- Edward Olson as the intruder
Release
The film was released on Netflix on January 19, 2018.
Reception
The film received an approval rating of 13% on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews, and has an average rating of 3/10.[1]
References
- ^ "The Open House (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2018-02-21.
