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SILENT HOUSE (2012)Movie Reviews
Horror thriller about a young woman trapped in her family's secluded lake house as ominous events unfold around her. Cast:Elizabeth Olsen, Adam Trese, Eric Sheffer Stevens, Julia Taylor RossDirector:Chris Kentis, Laura LauRelease Date:March 9, 2012DVD Release:July 24, 2012From:Open Road FilmsRating:RLength:1 hr 28 min
Silent House (2012) played to good not great reviews. • Christy Lemire wrote for the Associated Press, "...features several genuine scares and giggle-inducing jumps... But once the ultimate twist is revealed, you may find yourself feeling frustrated — or even disgusted..." • And Colin Covert wrote in the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, "It's impressive and oppressive, and it very effectively gets on your nerves." More Reviews Below...
Silent House (2012) Positive Reviews (37 Reviews, reviews below)
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...features several genuine scares and giggle-inducing jumps... But once the ultimate twist is revealed, you may find yourself feeling frustrated -- or even disgusted..."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 546 words, 03/08/12
Mara Reinstein, Us Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "For a solid hour, this heart-pounding chiller brims with suspense.... That is, until the disapppointing, gimme-a-break payoff. The horror!"(See all of Mara Reinstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 114 words, 03/08/12
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly: EXCELLENT(cg) "...there's nothing so nerve-rattling as sticking close to a panicked character unable to distinguish reality from her own unraveling."(See all of Lisa Schwarzbaum's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 227 words, 03/09/12
Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "If you ask why, 'Silent House' is so not for you.... The fun is in the technique.... Elizabeth Olsen is a primo scream queen."(See all of Peter Travers's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 126 words, 03/02/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...what you want to shout is, Get out of the damn house!... delivers, although you may be left suspecting there's more to the mold in the walls than they're telling us."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 03/09/12
Kat Murphy, MSN Movies: VERY GOOD(cg) "...surpasses its source thanks to Elizabeth Olsen's powerful performance and Igor Martinovic's strikingly imaginative camerawork."(See all of Kat Murphy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 792 words, 03/06/12
James Berardinelli, Reel Views: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...undercut by the instability of the hand-held camera and the weak ending. The latter is not a deal-breaker but, for some, the former will be."(See all of James Berardinelli's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 961 words, 03/07/12
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Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: WEAK(cg) "...one-half of a nerveracking horror film... The trickery wears thin by the movie's midpoint, but at least there's real atmosphere outside."(See all of Joe Neumaier's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 295 words, 03/09/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...at its best as a fast-paced enigma. When Kentis and Lau start explaining what's actually going on, the film takes a turn not just for the worse but the ludicrous."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 03/09/12
David Edelstein, New York Magazine: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "The staging is resourceful, the scares (even the annoying false ones) well executed. It's too monotonous to be any kind of classic..."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 817 words, 03/13/12
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: MODERATE(cg) "...what you want to shout is, Get out of the damn house!... delivers, although you may be left suspecting there's more to the mold in the walls than they're telling us."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 733 words, 03/09/12
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...even the nimbleness of the film's staging can't overcome a creeping monotony, and Elizabeth Olsen's performance loses its bearings..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 714 words, 03/07/12
Peter Howell, Toronto Star: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the film never runs out of Elizabeth Olsen, who maintains a level of intensity that is frightening all by itself. She's the real deal, even in a movie that's a simple copycat."(See all of Peter Howell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 606 words, 03/09/12
Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "It will make you jump, to be sure, and your heart to beat a little bit faster. But what's truly scariest about it takes place not in the body, but in the mind."(See all of Michael O'Sullivan's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 515 words, 03/09/12
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: VERY GOOD(cg) "...feels like a psychotic episode come to life. It's impressive and oppressive, and it very effectively gets on your nerves."(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 257 words, 03/09/12
Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "Once the twist becomes apparent, the film stops being scary and you stop caring about Sarah, despite Olsen's graceful performance. It's a shame."(See all of Randy Cordova's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 366 words, 03/09/12
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "Igor Martinovic might be too brilliant. His work makes the camera so human that in watching Olsen struggle and suffer and flip out, it isn't merely artistic. It's inhumane."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 599 words, 03/09/12
Stephen Whitty, New Jersey Star-Ledger: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a bare, scary little thriller, well directed by the team behind 'Open Water' -- you know, the film whose gimmick was that it was real people swimming with real sharks?"(See all of Stephen Whitty's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 496 words, 03/09/12
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "...another impressive achievement for Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, the team behind 'Open Water' (2003), which was pretty frightening and unrelenting, as well."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 566 words, 03/09/12
Roger Moore, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...a movie whose terror can be read in every silent scream on Olsen's gorgeous face, served up in more extreme close-ups than you can count."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 394 words, 03/09/12
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: POOR(cg) "All the film does is make you search the screen for its seams, like kids search for Waldo, until the story reaches its ludicrous finale, which makes less than zero sense."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 348 words, 03/09/12
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (10 Reviews)
Nick Pinkerton, Village Voice/LA Weekly: FAIR "...even the nimbleness of the film's staging can't overcome a creeping monotony, and Elizabeth Olsen's performance loses its bearings..."(See all of Nick Pinkerton's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 714 words, 03/07/12
Eric Eisenberg, Cinema Blend: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...there is enough tension that backs of theater seats will end up with permanent dents, but the end is so incredibly disappointing that it's hard to look past."(See all of Eric Eisenberg's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 527 words, 03/09/12
Alexandra Cavallo, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "Shot in a single, continuous take, Chris Kentis and Laura Lau's 'Silent House' crackles with a gnawing anxiety like that which defined their debut, 'Open Water.' "(See all of Alexandra Cavallo's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 148 words, 03/08/12
Stephanie Zacharek, Movieline: MODERATE(cg) "This is good-for-you, arthouse-style horror. Which doesn't mean it's necessarily any good.... a highly accomplished bit of arthouse wigwaggery..."(See all of Stephanie Zacharek's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 628 words, 03/08/12
Ed Gonzalez, Slant: POOR(cg) "...a really noisy remake of an Uruguayan film that was also shot in one continuous take.... a story that's less frightening than it is risible."(See all of Ed Gonzalez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 676 words, 03/04/12
MaryAnn Johanson, Flick Filosopher: POOR(cg) "...when a film that wants to champion women and push back against the abuses we are often subjected to treats the young woman at its core so abysmally, I get angry."(See all of MaryAnn Johanson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 358 words, 05/03/12
Andrew Lapin, NPR: VERY GOOD "The slow-burning dread of 'Silent House' is inescapable, even to those who attempt to rise above fear by pondering the movie's 'gotcha' alchemy."(See all of Andrew Lapin's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 597 words, 03/08/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...at its best as a fast-paced enigma. When Kentis and Lau start explaining what's actually going on, the film takes a turn not just for the worse but the ludicrous."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 03/09/12
MOVIE INDUSTRY (4 Reviews)
Rob Nelson, Daily Variety: FAIR "...puts its heavy-breathing and buxom young heroine through the ringer for 87 minutes and leaves a sour aftertaste even by the brutalizing standards of modern horror."(See all of Rob Nelson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 603 words, 01/22/11
Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: WEAK "...a creaky haunted house that, once the big twist is revealed, makes very little sense at all.... it's hokum increasingly drugged by tedium."(See all of Todd McCarthy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 619 words, 03/02/12
Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times: MODERATE "...at its best as a fast-paced enigma. When Kentis and Lau start explaining what's actually going on, the film takes a turn not just for the worse but the ludicrous."(See all of Mark Olsen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 03/09/12
18.2 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Silent House (2012)'s reviews are separated by an average 18.2 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Silent House (2012) (37 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Silent House (2012)'s reviews cover 68.1% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 18,196 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 492 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 3 Days Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Silent House (2012)'s reviews on average broke 3 days before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Silent House (2012)'s opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Silent House (2012) (37 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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