House at the End of the Street Review

This was a fine example of a psychological horror film with a mind bending twist that will make you want to watch the movie a second time. Only the best twists can change the whole dynamic of a movie, and this was achieved here. This was a relief for me,as I feel like the horror genre has gone downhill lately and this was a refreshing unique film. The mystery of the film also was quite alluring, adding a level of depth to make it that much more exquisite.

The House at the End of the Street (2012) was written by David Loucka and directed by Mark Tonderai. It stars Jennifer Lawrence, Max Thieriot and Elisabeth Shue. Teenager Elissa (Lawrence) and her newly divorced mother Sarah (Shue) move into a new house and immediately hear rumors about the house next door. Apparently a young girl murdered both her parents there four years ago. They later find out that the only remaining son Ryan (Thieriot) lives there. The town feels disgust and fear about Ryan, but Elissa gets to know him and they begin spending a lot of time together. Little does she know, Ryan has secrets he is keeping from her and she might be in danger from the same fate as his parents.

This movie was very exciting! I don’t want to give away any plot details, but it's interesting when a story makes the killer end up being the victim. There is something beautiful about redirection and it is one of my favorite things to see in a film. Another thing that stood out to me was the urban legend aspect. All the locals had told stories about the girl that murdered her parents and there were some locals that believed she could be found running in the woods at night.. The funny thing is, this legend happened to be true.

I recommend this movie to anyone that likes getting creeped out and wants to have a mind bending experience.

• House at the End of the Street had a budget of 10 million dollars and brought in a worldwide gross of 44.2 million dollars.
• This film was released on September 21, 2012.
• The movie was filmed in Ontario, Canada.
• The film's release was moved from April 2012 to September 2012, allowing the Hunger Games to be released without this film being released in the same month as originally planned.
• Producer Aaron Ryder had Jennifer Lawrence read for the lead role based on her performance in Winter's Bone.
• This was the film debut for Eva Link.
• Jennifer Lawrence does not actually sing in the movie - she's lip syncing to session musician Sarah Rayne's voice. However, she did record her own version of one of the songs, "All You Gotta Do is Love", which was described as "not half bad".