Remaking Gustavo Hernandez's inventive Uruguayan thriller, La Casa Muda, proves an interesting technical challenge. The film, which debuted at Cannes back in 2010, was widely praised for it's tight, real time conceit, shot in one single take. It's a practice that we see used frequently in bits and pieces, but with the exception of Alfred Hitchcock's Rope not often as a feature film standard. Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, who made a splash nine years ago with their low budget deep sea thriller, Open Water, have stuck nearly shot-for-shot with Hernandez's film with Silent House, and in doing so are subject to many of the same failings surrounding a poorly delivered "twist" that undermines literally everything that came before it.
One of two films at last year's Sundance Film Festival that rocketed Elizabeth Olsen into superstardom, the other being Martha Marcy May Marlene, she gives an equally fractious but far less compelling performance as Sarah, a young woman who along with her father and uncle attempt to repair and resell their old home. The creep factor sets in almost from the very beginning, not just from the broken windows, squeaky floorboards, and lack of electricity forcing the use of candlelight, but Sarah's uncle seems especially concerned about her well being. There's something not quite right with her, and the touch 'n go treatment by her family only makes it more obvious.
The arrival of a persistent neighbor girl Sarah can't quite remember is basically the signal to let the terror begin. What starts as Sarah seeming to be a little paranoid over the occasional bump in the dark, quickly escalates into bloody violence. Her father is attacked and left for dead, somebody is stalking the darkened hallways looking for another victim. Is it a squatter, looking to keep the dilapidated building for himself? Or is it something more than that?
Kentis creates a perfect sense of dread, with the boarded up windows allowing the most minimal of light to penetrate, giving the impression of being trapped in a deep cavern. Subsequently, the few times Sarah actually bursts forth to the outside, you feel as if you yourself have escaped the darkness along with her, racing along through the herky jerky shaky cam. It actually works in this case, giving the film an uncomfortable oppressiveness that'll likely cause a few chills.
Getting to that point is excruciating slow, highlighting one of the drawbacks of the single shot technique. Breaking out of a tonal comfort zone is difficult enough for most directors to pull off in an organic way, but when you don't have the luxury of cutting elsewhere it's exceedingly difficult. Whether or not Kentis and Lau actually hold true to the real time gimmick is anybody's guess, but it certainly looks like they have. There's nothing wrong with the film technically, but as boredom settles in you'll probably spend more time looking for scene cuts than watching Sarah burst into tears for the umpteenth time.
Olsen is good enough in her role, although it's unclear to me what the big fuss was about, because the role itself is extremely weak. The film hinges on a shocker twist that won't be spoiled here, even though it's basically given away early on by Oscar Estevez's poorly managed script. Without the benefit of surprise, Silent House is little more than a mediocre horror, enough to appease fans of the genre but not much else.
