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No consensus yet.
All Critics (13) | Top Critics (4) | Fresh (8) | Rotten (5) | DVD (3)
Its 85 minutes stuffed with shadowy menace, odd magical-realisms (what is it with the jumping fish?), and effortless tension, House by the River is quintessential Lang. Oct 15, 2014 | Full Review…
Its 85 minutes stuffed with shadowy menace, odd magical-realisms (what is it with the jumping fish?), and effortless tension, House by the River is quintessential Lang.
Michael Atkinson
House by the River is a fair mystery which lacks sufficient plot twists and suspense. Mar 26, 2009 | Full Review…
House by the River is a fair mystery which lacks sufficient plot twists and suspense.
Variety Staff
It's a bleak, gloomy film, one in which the psychological undercurrents seem to be flooding over the banks, drowning any fleeting vestige of rationality in a perverse Teutonic romanticism. Jun 24, 2006 | Full Review…
It's a bleak, gloomy film, one in which the psychological undercurrents seem to be flooding over the banks, drowning any fleeting vestige of rationality in a perverse Teutonic romanticism.
Tom Charity
Full of Victorian adornments, shadowy lighting and morbid moods, it is a desperate attempt to raise goose-flesh with a standard horror-psychological plot. Mar 25, 2006 | Full Review…
Full of Victorian adornments, shadowy lighting and morbid moods, it is a desperate attempt to raise goose-flesh with a standard horror-psychological plot.
Bosley Crowther
Making moody use of light and shade, Lang ingeniously involves us more deeply than the plot merits. For all that, it's still very much a B-movie. Oct 15, 2014 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…
Making moody use of light and shade, Lang ingeniously involves us more deeply than the plot merits. For all that, it's still very much a B-movie.
David Parkinson
While House By the River is, at least, a typically interesting Lang film, it suffers from a weak script and uninspired performances that even the director's moody visuals have trouble saving. Oct 15, 2014 | Rating: 2.5/4 | Full Review…
While House By the River is, at least, a typically interesting Lang film, it suffers from a weak script and uninspired performances that even the director's moody visuals have trouble saving.
House by the River is a gothic melodrama, and it marshals its limited resources to create a rich and pervasive atmosphere of decay and corruption. Jul 7, 2010 | Full Review…
House by the River is a gothic melodrama, and it marshals its limited resources to create a rich and pervasive atmosphere of decay and corruption.
David Cairns
The shoestring budget both heightens the director's frustrations and frees his obsessions Feb 12, 2010 | Full Review…
The shoestring budget both heightens the director's frustrations and frees his obsessions
Fernando F. Croce
It pits good brother against bad brother. Feb 18, 2007 | Rating: B | Full Review…
It pits good brother against bad brother.
Dennis Schwartz
Beautifully made thriller Aug 22, 2006 | Full Review…
Beautifully made thriller
Michael E. Grost
It's a subtle achievement, but a great one. Feb 11, 2006 | Full Review…
It's a subtle achievement, but a great one.
Jeffrey M. Anderson
The second-rung cast respond to the spirit but not the tone of the story. Feb 11, 2006 | Full Review…
The second-rung cast respond to the spirit but not the tone of the story.
Film4 Staff
"House by the River" is another one of those movies that never answers the oh-so-important question of 'Why should we care?' It's about as boring as you can imagine, underacted and sluggishly scripted. Fritz Lang is a director that I tend to rank above others from his era, but here he just misses the mark.
Super Reviewer
I really enjoyed this melodramatic gothic mystery tale. There aren't many big stars in it, but everyone does a good job. It's exciting and has romance, a lot of drama, and even some laughs. This is a very interesting movie, more like the 40s than 50s, actually. I recommend it.
little seen and low budget gothic thriller with louis hayward in a standout performance as a would be novelist and all around sleaze who accidentally kills his maid while making advances to her. instead of reporting it, he talks his reluctant brother into helping him dump the body in the river. big mistake. the film is very entertaining but could've been stronger if lang had been allowed to make the servant black i think. cinematography is grand with long shots down dark corridors and spooky scenes of the river at night. well worth a look
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