Our House (2018)

This was a pretty decent thriller, but not perfect by any means. They tried to combine a dramatic story with a supernatural experience, and the result was entertaining and engaging, and they didn’t drag it out to be any longer than it needed to be. I can’t say I was over impressed, but I enjoyed the experience as a whole and I felt it was well written and the young actors did a great job with their roles. My biggest issue was the ending. This is an example of suspense with little payoff, in my opinion.

Our House (2018) was written by Nathan Parker and directed by Anthony Scott Burns. It stars Thomas Mann, Percy Hynes White and Kate Moyer. Ethan (Mann) is a science major at a university near his childhood home. He is working on an experiment that could revolutionize the way we use electricity and he is so obsessed that he has started to ignore his family. One day Ethan’s parents die in a car crash, and Ethan has to return home and take care of his brother and sister. He continues to conduct his experiments in the basement of his home, and he makes a startling discovery. There is a side effect with his experiment; Ethan’s little sister Becca (Moyer) can communicate with their deceased parents. However, are they really his parents or have they contacted something else entirely?

First off, this is how long a horror movie should be. Any scary film that is more than 90 minutes is too long, in my opinion. There are a few exceptions, but not many. The problem is that usually if a scary flick is two hours, then there is at least 30 minutes of pointless jump scares and filler that could be trimmed. Luckily this film was short and sweet. I also appreciate the young cast. They all did a great job in their roles. The standout performance for me was Thomas Mann, our main character. I found his acting easy to swallow and believable.

My biggest issue with this film was the climax. I felt like they were building up to something really cool, and the ending just didn’t land for me. I felt like they could have done more to make this movie a genuine horror film rather than a drama thriller. There were some missed opportunities, not to mention that the abrupt ending left a few unanswered questions for me, which is never a good sign.

I would recommend this film for people that like a blend of drama and thriller, but don’t expect anything too special here, just an entertaining story and some well acted characters.

• The worldwide gross for this film is 24,039.
• The release date is July 27, 2018. This film was produced by Prospero Pictures. It was distributed by IFC Midnight.
• This movie was filmed in Ontario, Canada.
• The band Electric Youth had originally been involved with the soundtrack of the movie. However, they parted ways once they learned that the film had been heavily altered in post production. Their soundtrack has been released under the original title of the film, Breathing.
• Principal photography began in May 2016.