Movie Review: House on Elm Lake (2017)
House On Elm Lake is the feature-length directorial debut from director James Klass. It’s a horror film about a family that moves to a lake house that has some bad history associated with it, and they experience some demonic occurrences while there. This film is nothing extraordinary but they add a few of their own twists. It has some good and bad qualities about it. The premise isn’t anything really new, and the pace of the film could have really used some help. That being said, there are some redeeming qualities that make up for some of the shortcomings. Unfortunately, the good is outweighed by mediocrity in this case.
What we liked:
– For being on a small budget, some things like the cinematography and sound were pretty good. No real complaints about the production and some scenes had some good work that stood out.
– The acting was pretty decent. Everyone did a great job playing the characters.
– James Klass has a really good eye for camera shots. The film felt very natural visually and was well-directed for a debut feature.
What we thought could have been better:
– The main characters weren’t believable. The mother and father looked about 28 years old at most. Their daughter looked about 14 or 15 and just about as tall as the mother. That would mean they had her when they were 13 or 14. This falls more into the casting category and is no fault of the writers or actors, but this was the first thing we noticed, and it breaks the immersion of the story. When the piece breaking the immersion is that big, it’s hard to get back into it.
– The story was a bit bland. This was not much different than most other haunted house stories out there. Of course, this film had its own nuances, but at the end of the day, this has been done a million times.
– There were a couple of scenes that just didn’t make sense and would have been better left out. One involving something Eric does to Hayley, and some scenes involving the old man. They just didn’t seem to fit into what the film was trying to accomplish. The Eric and Hayley scene was completely irrelevant a moment later. It just seemed unnatural in the flow of the film. The old man just seemed like another odd casting choice.
Overall:
House On Elm Lake is an ok horror film, but not impressive and doesn’t break any new ground in the supernatural/demon subgenre and sabotages itself with weird casting decisions and writing choices. The production quality of this film was good, and the direction and action were pretty solid, but the rest of the film is pretty mediocre. House On Elm Lake releases 4/10/2018 on VOD everywhere.
