With Gustavo Hernández‘s The Silent House premiering at Cannes last year, it has been a quick turn-around for Open Water filmmakers Chris Kentis and Laura Lau. They were approached to do the remake in June and we now have the final product in January. Like the single coffin gimmick of last year’s much-buzzed Sundance thriller Buried, Silent House has an even more impressive trick.
The entire film takes place in one shot, a single take. While there are obvious moments of cheating as the screen goes black, they are able to pull off the feat. But with all the focus centered on this trick, the characters and plot are left by the wayside. Mary Kate and Ashley’s younger sister, Elizabeth Olsen, is unable to carry the film, marred by a script that plays through every horror cliché in the book. The first hour is so dull, that by the time things get slightly interesting (when some actually plot is worked out), it is too late. Daniel Mecca and I recorded a quick video reaction, which you can see below.