House at the End of the Street Review

Change can be very hard especially when it comes to moving. With a new job, new friends, and new neighbors, you never know what to expect. When Sarah (Elisabeth Shue) and her teenage daughter, Elissa (Jennifer Lawrence) move to their dream house in the woods, they’re excited about the change they’re about to embark upon. However, things get a little creepy when they learn that the house down the street was the scene of a double murder. Ryan Jacobson, is the young man who lives in the house; a house he inherited, and the house where his sister killed their parents. Elissa and Ryan gradually become friends, and Elissa learns the horrific truth about Ryan, his sister, and his deceased parents. House at the End of the Street is a horrific thriller staring The Hunger Games’ Jennifer Lawrence.

Rating: 1 and 1/2 buckets out of 5.
Release Date: January 8, 2013
MPAA Rating: PG13
Best Age Group: 14+
Sexual Content: Moderate
Violent Content: Excessive
Crude or Profane Language: Moderate
Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate
Will Kids Like It? No

See the trailer here!

See a clip of my review here!

Talking Points:

Fans of The Hunger Games may want to see this movie because of Jennifer Lawrence (who played Katniss in The Hunger Games). However parents need to be aware that this is a very creepy, scary and disturbing movie. It’s not an unrealistic horror film with ghosts and goblins. This is a movie where we see a young man kidnapping and hurting young women.

Elissa continuously lies to her mother. She tells her mom she’s home, when she’s not. She even forwards their home phone calls to her cell phone, that way her mom will think she’s home.

Sexual Content: Moderate

• At a high school party a boy pressures Elissa into having sex. He tries to get on top of her, but she pushes him away.
• Ellisa and Ryan make-out.
• We see a young couple in a car contemplating whether they should have sex in the car.

Violent Content: Excessive

• The film starts out with Carrie Anne (the neighbor’s sister) killing her parents.
• (Spoiler alert) We’re to believe that Ryan’s sister died in the woods. However, we learn that Ryan kept her in a locked room in his basement. He thought that would be better than having her institutionalized, as she had brain damage as a young child. He keeps her perpetually sedated. When he feeds her, she violently hits and bites him, it is very disturbing.
• When Ryan’s sister escapes, she runs through the woods with a butcher knife.
• Ryan gets into a brawl with some teenage boys, he breaks a boys ankle.
• Boys trash Ryan’s car and try to set his house on fire.
• We see characters being stabbed and murdered.

Crude of Profane Language: Moderate

• We hear “a–hole,” “b–ch,” “d-ck,” and “d–n,” a number of times.
  

Drugs and Alcohol Content: Moderate

• We see character’s drinking wine. Sarah (Eiissa’s mom) drinks a whole bottle.
• We see a high school party where it’s implied that kids are drinking alcoholic beverages.
• Ryan injects sedatives into his sister to calm her down.

Will Kids Like It? No

Overall House at the End of the Street is a creepy film, one that I feel is not appropriate for kids. Mature teenagers, that like scary films, may enjoy this movie, but I doubt it and I don’t recommend it. Parents need to be aware of the disturbing violence and teenage social issues.

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