Silent House

Based on 2010’s eponymous Argentinean thriller, Silent House follows Elizabeth Olsen’s Sarah as she and her father (Adam Trese’s John) attempt to spend a summer afternoon restoring an old house – with the pair’s efforts eventually hindered by the presence of one or more palpably sinister figures. Silent House, which unfolds in one long, uninterrupted take, admittedly takes a while to wholeheartedly grab the viewer’s interest, as the nature of the film’s central stylistic conceit initially does lend it a stagy, almost amateurish feel that proves impossible to overlook. It’s a vibe that persists right up until filmmakers Chris Kentis and Laura Lau start peppering the narrative with decidedly tense interludes, with the creepiness inherent in such moments heightened by the strength of Olsen’s frequently spellbinding performance. There’s little doubt, however, that the movie’s tenuous momentum takes a serious hit in the progressively uneventful midsection, as Kentis and Lau primarily devote this portion of the film to Sarah’s solo investigation of the creepy (and excessively dark) house. It’s routine, tedious stuff that grows more and more interminable as time progresses, with the decidedly repetitive nature of Sarah’s antics – ie she spends a lot of time cowering and exploring – diminishing the impact of the revelations that come fast and furious in the film’s final stretch. It’s ultimately impossible to label Silent House as anything more than a failed cinematic experiment, which is a shame, certainly, given the strength of Olsen’s work and the directors’ sporadically stirring visual sensibilities.

** out of ****