I could’ve sworn this was a remake, but after a little digging, I realize I was thinking of other similarly named flicks. “The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane,” “House at the End of the Drive,” “Beat Street”… the list goes on.
But I was surprised that “House at the End of the Street” (2012) starring Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Shue and Max Thieriot, produced some genuine thrills and twists that kept me pleasantly surprised through to the end credits. The gist is a mom and daughter move to a house in Pennsylvania that’s next door to the site of a matricide/patricide two-fer at the hands of their crazy daughter. And before I spend too much time discussing how the story is propelled by the cray cray missing-in-action neighbor daughter or how much I like Jennifer Lawrence, I’ll simply say PLEASE JUST GO ALONG FOR THE RIDE. I don’t know if this movie has one of those trailers with the annoying voice-over that dares us “WAIT FOR THE TWIST ENDING THAT YOU WON’T SEE COMING,” but regardless, just forget you read this sentence, OK? In fact, maybe I should retroactively put up a SPOILERS disclaimer? That’s a good idea. SPOILERS!
Pretty good performances by all, including random peripheral schoolmates, Jennifer Lawrence’s quasi-oddball/stalker/nice guy boyfriend and the local cop who doesn’t automatically give out-of-towners stink-eye. Surprisingly modest body count; this movie plays up tension rather than toe tags.
And yes— when going to the house at the end of the street, you’ll encounter some clever twists and turns along the way. BOOM! *drops mic*
Doc Splatter says it ai’ight, gives it an A-. Check it out on a Netflix near you.