‘Open House’ lacks creativity

Wikipedia Commons

Netflix is home to many great movies and series. It’s the perfect place to go watch a great, creepy thriller film with a group of friends or even for a date. “The Open House” is not one of those films.

“The Open House” is a 2018 horror film following a financially unable mother and her son moving to a relative’s secluded mountain mansion until it is sold. Soon after moving into the mansion, the mother and son find themselves being threatened by an unknown force and must fight to stay alive.

The film had the potential to be creepy and chilling but ended up falling flat. Hard. Although the actors were not bad, the lines they delivered seemed cheesy and cliche. Everything wrong with the movie was purely because of the writing and how it was shot. The actors did the best with what they were given to work with.

Creepy things that happened around the house during the film were supposed to have a chilling and scary impact but honestly felt very forced. For a supposed horror/thriller film, not much about the film really gave any chills or anxiety. Although it was not very long, the movie had such a long build-up. Spooky things would occur within the mansion, yet the climax did not happen until the last 20 or 15 minutes.

Up until the last 20 minutes, the film failed to develop any characterization and rising action. With a movie focused on a mother and son recovering from a tragedy and being stuck in a big mansion together, there ought to have been a relationship build between the two while they dealt with all the ridiculous occurrences going on through the house.

The end of the movie only further exhibited the lack of creativity. It seemed like it was supposed to be a plot that should have shocked audiences, but due to the lack of character development and imagination, the conclusion ended badly and left the audience feeling nothing at all.

“The Open House” may not be a long movie, but it is a waste of time either way. If you want a thrilling, creative movie to watch, it is suggested you look elsewhere unless you want to be bored out of your mind and unentertained.

2 out of 5 stars (2 / 5)