The Horror Show
The Open House
by Matt Angel, Suzanne Coote
Sometimes I read a synopsis or watch a trailer for movies and I will be completely fooled by them. The Open House had me thinking that it would be an interesting story with twists and turns. Sadly, Netflix fell short with this movie.
The movie starts off building this family dynamic and then immediately kills the dad off. All of a sudden, Naomi, the mom, and Logan, the son, are left with nothing. The father apparently didn't leave his family with anything. Did he not have insurance? Was he a deadbeat? This is the first in a long line of questions that this movie left unanswered.
Naomi's wealthy sister, Allison, lets them live in her mountain home while it's being listed for sale. The only caveat is that on Sunday Naomi and Logan must be out of the house while the real estate agents have an open house. The only locals that the family meets in this isolated mountain community are Martha, the neighbor with Alzheimer's, Chris, who runs a store in town, and a nameless handy man.
Strange noises start happening after the first open house. Logan's phone goes missing. Every time Naomi takes a shower the pilot light on the water heater goes out. The audience is treated to figures moving in the shadows. One night someone breaks in and plays Christmas music. At this point I stood up and yelled at the screen.
I'm not going to spoil it, but the ending was just too long. I knew what was coming, but it took it a lifetime to get there. The pace is so slow. They set up the father's death to build sympathy from the audience and tension between the mother and son. The problem is I do not care about these two in the slightest. The mother is terrible. The son is a brat. I feel nothing for these people.
Netflix is usually on point with the programming they feature. I guess with all those hits they have to have a few misses under their belt. The Open House should have a closed door policy.
Robin Thompson, HMS
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