Moving into "The Strange House" (A quick review)
The Strange House is an Austrian horror movie.It potrays a character by the name Hendrik who happens to be a big city kid and not too happy that his mother has moved him and his little brother to a village in the south of Austria.
The locals say the family's new home has been haunted ever since a mother poisoned her two sons there many decades ago. Hendrik and his new friends set off on a quest to lift the secret of the spooky house. So I know this is classified as a horror, but it's really only one for those in the young teenage range.
This has some of the feels of Stranger Things meets Super 8, and I don't think that's a bad thing at all. This has an atmosphere to it that feels like it could be sinister. We have Hendrik who begins to notice some oddities, especially with his younger brother sleepwalking and then acting bizarrely.
The boys find out that a family died in their house in the early 80s and a lot of the townspeople now believe that it's haunted. Odd imagery mixed with weird camera angles help to add a level of discomfort to the tone of the movie. The setting of the house and even the town also help with this atmosphere.
The home is overgrown with plants and there's also a massive slug problem. And not not that the slugs are massive, but there's just a crap ton of them all over the property. The townspeople are less than friendly, too.
Most of the time they just kind of stare blankly at the new family, barely even acknowledging their existence. It's odd and it gives off this vibe that they're not welcome. The kids are endearing, though, as they go about their quest to solve the mystery.
There's also some humor that comes into play and it's a little cheesy, but it's not terrible. And I thought that it ultimately fit with the narrative and even made me laugh out loud in brief moments. If you go into this thinking it will be a dark and mysterious horror or thriller, you're gonna be disappointed.
I do think that this is really geared towards the YA demographic and it sticks to that level of tension. Some of the character relationships are problematic because there's an antagonism that is present, but it's never explained or even really developed. Also, the whole story arc tries to maintain this level of suspense, but it never creates a story that sucks you in to the degree that is needed to make this impactful.
The movie is not that lengthy but for the most part it did keep progressing forward. But because it never got to be truly suspenseful, there isn't an urgency that drives the story. The story wants us to believe that there is an urgency, but it's just not there.
Because I believe this is geared towards the younger audience, it makes sense that the mystery portion of the story is pretty predictable and obvious. It's not so blatant that you figure it out in the first 15 minutes, but you're still able to accurately guess what's going on and the answer to the riddles well before the reveals. I don't think this is a bad watch.
We have the actors who do a good job of creating some enjoyable characters and they convey their emotions well. Even the story is a little decent. I just don't think that this is designed specifically for adults.
But for the purpose of kids seeking for something that is a little dark, but not so terrible, with a bit of creepy element, this can be a fun movie for them. Notwithstanding , I give it a rating of 6/10.
Thank you for reading!
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Even though the movie does not quite meet the classic mark, This is nicely reviewed, Rose. Don't forget to engage with other authors in the community!✨
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