Silent House

2012

Silent House

Critics Consensus

Silent House is more technically proficient and ambitious than most fright-fests, but it also suffers from a disappointing payoff.

43%

TOMATOMETER

Total Count: 133

30%

Audience Score

User Ratings: 42,290
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Silent House Photos

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Movie Info

From the directors of the hit film Open Water, Silent House is a uniquely unsettling horror thriller starring Elizabeth Olsen as Sarah, a young woman who finds herself sealed inside her family's secluded lake house. With no contact to the outside world, and no way out, panic turns to terror to terror as events become increasingly ominous in and around the house. Directed by filmmaking duo Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, Silent House uses meticulous camera choreography to take the audience on a tension-filled, real time journey, experienced in a single uninterrupted shot. -- (C) Open Road

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Cast

Elizabeth Olsen
as Sarah
Adam Trese
as John
Eric Sheffer Stevens
as Peter
Julia Taylor Ross
as Sophia
Adam Barnett
as Stalking Man
Haley Murphy
as Little Girl

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Critic Reviews for Silent House

All Critics (133) | Top Critics (34) | Fresh (57) | Rotten (76)

  • It's still atmospheric enough, and like the original, has a quasi-theatrical event status. But it feels like a copy.

    May 3, 2012 | Rating: 3/5 | Full Review…

    Peter Bradshaw

    Guardian
    Top Critic

  • Ludicrous and offensive in equal measure. Avoid.

    May 3, 2012 | Rating: 1/5

    Matthew Thrift

    Little White Lies
    Top Critic

  • Filmmakers Chris Kentis and Laura Lau ('Open Water') should have plugged the original's plot holes and straightened out its logic.

    May 1, 2012 | Rating: 2/5 | Full Review…

    Nigel Floyd

    Time Out
    Top Critic

  • The camera's unblinking eye constantly stays with Olsen, and we feel in as much danger as she is.

    Mar 9, 2012 | Rating: 7/10 | Full Review…

    Ian Buckwalter

    The Atlantic
    Top Critic

  • It's Olsen's performance that makes Sarah's plight matter. And the actress proves that her mesmerizing turn in last fall's Martha Marcy May Marlene -- about a woman on the lam from a cult -- wasn't a fluke.

    Mar 9, 2012 | Rating: 3/4

    Lisa Kennedy

    Denver Post
    Top Critic

  • [Olsen is] terrific at showing shifts of emotion just underneath the skin of her wide, china-doll face.

    Mar 9, 2012 | Rating: 3/4 | Full Review…

    Stephen Whitty

    Newark Star-Ledger
    Top Critic
View All Critic Reviews (133)

Audience Reviews for Silent House

  • Jun 26, 2018
    Called 95% of the ending within the first 5 minutes, and boy did I hate that camera work. But I managed to make it through the 87 minute runtime more or less unscathed, mostly thanks to lead peformer Elizabeth Olsen.
    Gimly M Super Reviewer
  • Apr 21, 2018
    Starts off well, then an extremely long middle part which drags on. At this point nearly gave up on it as it's so dark and blocky onscreen (and this is on a Blu Ray copy) and seems to just be non stop close ups of Elizabeth Olsen looking terrified (admittedly effectively). Glad I preserved. I didn't see the twist coming and it really lifted it beyond what I assumed I was watching.
    Nicki M Super Reviewer
  • Oct 08, 2015
    Silent House is a film I want to rate higher on account of the lead performance and interesting directing. However, it lacks substance and suspense. The film is too cerebral and telegraphs the ending so the tension is gone too early. Still, Silent House is different and worth a view.
    Robert B Super Reviewer
  • Apr 06, 2015
    Enjoyable for about halfway through, until it completely derails with a twist that is hugely silly and random. Elizabeth Olsen is great and the camera work is occasionally brilliant. I'm frustrated that it had to turn into a psychological/ abuse-rape tale. Rating: 47
    Bradley J Super Reviewer
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