Genre: Horror

Director: Adam Gierasch

Cast: James Callis, Anne Dudek, Amiah Miller, Natasha Bassett, and Michael Bowen

Studio: Random Media

Runtime: 76 minutes

Release Date: On VOD October 10, 2017

Rated: Not Rated

Rating: ★★★★★

With fall around the corner and Halloween getting closer, it’s that time of year again where I do one of my favorite hobbies: binge watch horror movies. There’s no shortage of them and I’m always on the lookout for new ones. So, when I heard of House By the Lake, I thought, “why not check it out.”

Scott (James Callis) and Karen (Anne Dudek) are struggling to raise their autistic daughter Emma (Amiah Miller). Desperate to connect with her, they move to a lake house owned by Scott’s parents in hopes of unwinding and putting their problems behind them. Things get strange, though, once Emma becomes obsessed with the Fish Man, an imaginary friend she insists is real.

Amiah Miller as Emma (House By the Lake)

House By the Lake offers a simple but intriguing setup. And that simplicity ultimately leads to the film’s downfall. While the film succeeds in engaging you enough to want to see what happens, the characters’ lack of depth and a last act that feels rushed keep this psychological horror movie from reaching great heights.

The film’s biggest strength is its subtlety. The suspense comes from the way House By the Lake slowly develops the tension by starting off as a family drama and then sprinkles in the horror elements as the film moves along. This helps House By the Lake constantly feel like it’s building towards something and keeps you watching with anticipation.

The unfortunate thing, however, is that once you get to the climax, the events happen too fast for it to be satisfying. It doesn’t help that the ending is something most people would expect after reading the plot summary.

Despite the story being surprisingly subtle, it’s ironic that the music is about as understated as a freight train. It might sound like an odd complaint but the film’s score undermines the tension in quite a few places. Instead of letting the scene play out and letting the subject matter disturb you, House By the Lake feels the need to have overtly creepy music play over the scene as a way to tell you now is the time to be scared. It becomes almost comical how over the top it is.

Something that does work in the film’s favor is its small scale. True to its name, House By the Lake takes place entirely at a lakeside location. Having only one setting lends to a claustrophobic feeling as the characters feel isolated from civilization.

It’s a shame, though, that Adam Gierasch’s direction feels uninspired. House By the Lake is not the worst horror movie out there; it’s just too generic for my taste. It leads to the film looking like a million others, failing to make it stand out in a genre that feels over-saturated.

Another aspect that falls short is the underdeveloped characters, the parents, who fall terribly flat. Karen is overprotective of Emma while Scott is more laid back. Both had goals in life that were put on hold due to Emma’s condition. We’ve seen this scenario before and it was done better. And while Callis and Dudek are perfectly fine in their respective roles, the writing holds you back from truly caring about their characters.

Anne Dudek and James Callis as Karen and Scott

There’s also a sexy nanny (Natasha Bassett), and a creepy old man (Michael Bowen) who lives nearby, whose only real purposes are to cause Karen and Scott to bicker and fight. These two add so little to the plot that the film probably would have benefitted from them being cut.

Thankfully, Miller  is outstanding as Emma. After giving a stand-out performance earlier this year in War for the Planet of the Apes, Miller’s talents continue to shine here. She gives a quiet, nuanced performance, capturing a variety of emotions easily with very few lines of dialogue. Going from sympathetic to unsettling at the drop of a hat, Miller makes House By the Lake worth watching.

Despite some of the negativity in this review, House By the Lake is not bad by any means; actually, it’s perfectly fine. If the plot sounds fascinating to you, go ahead and give it a watch.

For more on this film visit:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HouseByTheLakeMovie/

All Photos: ©2017 Random Media. All Rights Reserved.

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