My wife and I are renters. We have a decent sized four bedroom, two bath that is off the beaten path. Sorry for the rhyme. We have looked into home ownership, but could never really find exactly what we wanted at the time. Without showing my hand too much, I have to say after watching this film, I might renew my lease.
What starts as a dinner party with neighbors turns into a three course meal of terror when the host suddenly snaps as the opening credits roll. We are then introduced to Marisol and Mike, a couple who are looking to buy their dream home. As they enter the house, they are greeted by a sexually charged real estate agent with a thing for Mike. When the agent begins to tour the home with them, the viewer is treated to an anthology-style piece wherein we are shown three different atrocities that have taken place over the past twenty-some years.
The first shows us the dark side of a family keeping safe in the basement during a storm. A sick but abusive mother, the mousy, brow beaten father and two teens sitting by and plotting to take out their parents.
The second is another basement tale of a deranged young man who is abducting, torturing and killing for sport. All while another would be victim is kept in the wings, forced to watch her captor complete his "work".
The final story is actually a continuation of the prologue, where we see the "why" and "how" of the mad neighbor's dinner party from Hell. Jealous of his neighbors' lives and calculating every fault they have, he forces the family to play favorites in a way that is horrifying and unforgettable.
Interwoven into these stories are Marisol & Mike's tour with the horny agent, mostly all played for comic relief between the terror. Whether they buy the house or not I will not say, but know that the evil that continues to draw the sick and twisted to this perfect house is surely not done.
Directors Kris Hulbert & Randy Kent do a fantastic job with this film as they confine the viewer inside the house with its claustrophobic camera angles and tight shots with no room to make yourself comfortable. The cast does a fantastic job with the well written script, penned by Hulbert. The best performances overall being that of Sleepaway Camp alumnus Felissa Rose and Jonathan Tiersten.
While the score did seem very copy and paste horror music, there were some cues that I haven't heard since late 80s slasher fare. I even detected a hint of homage to Nightmare on Elm Street 4 as far as the music goes.
This movie is going to go high on my list of recommended horror from the last ten years as I greatly appreciated pretty much everything it had to offer. It really takes a lot to make me squirm and The Perfect House fits the bill.
No comments:
Post a Comment