Silent House (2011)

Silent House (2011)

Special mention to Elizabeth Olsen (the best of the Olsen sisters), on whom everything hinges. The poor thing! Because the film is really bad. But she’s a really good actress and her performance is very convincing (especially as this was her first major film role).

I read this: “I really liked it (it’s even better than the original)! It just goes to show that sometimes the Americans are right to make remakes with more resources… because the result can be a lot of fun to watch, especially as here they’re taking some liberties and offering something quite different.”

It’s not easy to make a feature film with practically no dialogue, or some of it that’s downright pointless, because it doesn’t advance the plot in any way, if there really is one, because the ending is so confusing that I didn’t even try to find out what the real big problem was in this crazy family! And that’s not a good sign…

I was really bored from start to finish, even though I tried to stay focused. The actress clearly helped me. But I’ve got nothing more to say except advise you not to waste your time!

I found a much shorter cove than mine:
“A film that lives up to its name because it’s so silent and absolutely nothing happens. It’s a genre that’s so much in demand nowadays, filmed with a hand-held camera, where you shout ‘O Genius’, without a script.”

Yes, that’s not a very good way of putting it, but it’s unfortunately true.

That’s true! I’m not always anti-remake. However, I haven’t seen the original. And it’s not one of my priorities to do so. If ever, it’s a Uruguayan film from 2010, La Casa Muda (which rightly means The Mute House) and is said to be based on a real incident that took place in a Uruguayan village in the 1940s.

The film is very low budget, shot in a single sequence. Or so it seems 😉 In fact, this use of ‘real time’ footage and the manufactured appearance of a single continuous shot, similar to Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948), is remarkably well done. This technique gives the film tension, depth and total immersion in this gloomy house.

What’s more, the camera never leaves Sarah’s side, giving us a certain intimacy with this main character, an absolute voyeurism and total immersion in the film. Elizabeth Olsen’s performance is remarkable, and unlike her twin sisters, she plays it with absolute accuracy, without overdoing it. Her performance reinforces this intimacy, because you feel like you’re there.

Now let’s talk about the script: for 1 hour 10 minutes, the film intensifies with gloomy noises, creaking noises, tension and fear (yes, you are theoretically scared quite often, because the camerawork is quite well done). I wasn’t sure where the film was going, what kind of horror the director was leading me towards (slasher, horrific thriller, ghosts?).

That said, my objectivity has its limits. I’ve long been disgusted by all things hand-held, like found footage! So this experience was very painful for me… with sequences lasting dozens of minutes without words.

I’ve tried to explain what’s interesting about this film, but the truth is: yes, I was bored out of my mind! This film was quite simply a torture, a torture… well… in short… a real piece of cinematic rubbish!