40
Silent House is undeniably built on its "one-shot, real-time" gimmick. And while it works reasonably well - especially in the first half of the film - it's still just a gimmick trying to gussy up a common horror flick.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
25
Silent House dies a sudden and egregious death when the amateur players in Olsen's company, Adam Trese and Eric Sheffer Stevens, as her character Sarah's father and uncle, respectively, open their traps.
67
The long take pulls you into the realism of the moment, heightening any sense of unease already established by the story. In Silent House, directors Chris Kentis and Laura Lau ("Open Water") exploit the hell out of that uneasiness and keep pushing its limits.
60
Even this terrifically talented performer can't sell a Shyama-lana-ding-dong of a third-act twist that will make more eyes than heads roll.
83
Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum
A denouement more textbook than thrilling stalls some of the movie's power. But the early chills are potent, intense.
40
Village Voice by Nick Pinkerton
Silent House does superficially spiff up the haunted-house movie, but it's not built to last.
40
Pulling off the thespian equivalent of running a marathon, the hyperventilating Olsen works awfully hard in the service of a film that, in the end, does little or nothing to preserve her character's integrity.
50
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
My attention was held for the first act or so. Then any attempt at realism was abandoned, and it became clear that the house, and the movie containing it, were devices to manufacture methodical thrills. The explanation, if that's what it was, seemed contrived and unconvincing.
30
The Hollywood Reporter by Todd McCarthy
A creaky haunted house that, once the big twist is revealed, makes very little sense at all.