House at the End of the Street 
Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, Elisabeth Shue, Max Thieriot, Gil Bellows
Directed by Mark Tonerai
Rated: PG-13
Run Time: 101 mins
Genre: Horror/ Thriller
Opens September 21st
By Lisa Minzey
Hey Horror Movie Lovers! We round out this week’s reviews with the Horror/ Thriller flick House at the End of the Street starring Hunger Games star, Jennifer Lawrence. Don’t be quick to judge this film as another teen horror film or Cabin in the Woods copy. This film garnered Director Mark Tonderai with a nomination through the Director Guild of Canada DGC Craft Award.
In a quiet neighborhood, a house at the end of the street holds a dark secret. About 4 years earlier, a young girl, Carrie Anne murdered both of her parents in cold blood. The only surviving member of the Jacobson family, Ryan was not home at the time, as he was staying with relatives. As the years passed, the surrounding neighbors became angry and wanted the house torn down, due to decreasing property values from the murders. When Sarah Cassidy (Elisabeth Shue) and her teenage daughter Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) move in to the house next door to the Jacobson property, they were able to pick it up at a bargain. The neighborhood is gorgeous, as it is surrounded by forest preserves, giving it a whimsical, yet creepy vibe. One night Sarah is awoken at 3am by a loud noise. She sees a light on in the supposedly vacant property next door in the middle of the night, and it alarms her.
When Sarah and Elissa attend their welcome party the next day, they discover that Ryan (Max Thieriot) had moved back in the house a year prior to their arrival. The Cassidys are filled with wild rumors about Ryan Jacobson and his family, as they have become sort of an urban legend around these parts. Supposedly, after Carrie Anne killed her parents, she ran off into the woods, never to be seen again. Her body was said to have been washed up near the dam, but the body was never found.
Sarah and Elissa quickly settle into their new life and routine in the large house. Elissa made acquaintance with Ryan Jacobson by a chance meeting one night and quickly became friends. Ryan is a few years older than Elissa, and because of his family’s dark history this friendship is a huge risk for her.
The closer that Ryan and Elissa become, the more concerned Sarah is for her daughter’s safety. At first it is out of the normal teenage worries of a parent, sex, drugs and pregnancy. Sarah can not escape the nagging feeling that even though Ryan has experienced much tragedy in his life, there may be more that Elissa or Sarah could ever imagine.
House at the End of the Street is a film that will take you by surprise, literally. It is a smart thriller that the deeper the viewer goes into the house and back story of Ryan, the darker and twisted it becomes. If you enjoy a clever thriller, be sure to check it out when it opens in theaters Friday September 21,2012.
