House at the End of the Street (2012)

        I chose House at the End of the Street because, and I’ll admit this isn’t the most wonderful reason to choose a movie but I won’t lie to my fiends, Netflix suggested I might like it.  But then again Netflix usually does have a good idea of what I like to watch. Anywho, I tuned in and was immediately sucked in by the casting of Elizabeth Shue and Jennifer Lawrence as mother-daughter.  I love both of them as actresses and it was great to see them on screen together.  As the film begins, we see that the two of them have just moved into a new home in the sticks (right near a state park) from Chicago.  Mrs. Cassidy makes mention that the only reason they can even afford to rent the home is because of the murders that occurred in the house at the end of the street, where a 13 year old girl with brain damage murdered both of her parents one night. 

            The neighbors concur with the story and wish that the last family member (a young boy named Ryan, portrayed by Max Thieriot) would move and that the house would be torn down.  Alyssa gets to know the kids in the neighborhood and finds that they aren’t really her crowd, but when she meets Ryan the two of them hit it off really well – and she even finds a band and a few kids from school to be friends with.  No one is very comfortable with Alyssa’s relationship with Ryan, her mother and friends all seem to react very negatively about him.  The only person that seems to give Ryan a break besides Alyssa is the sheriff of their town, who thinks Ryan is a good kid that fell on hard times.  The question of whether or not his sister Carrie-Anne still lives in the woods haunts the teens in the area, and probably a few of the adults - yet no one knows the haunting truth that she is alive and well in Ryan’s care. 

            Even with Mrs. Cassidy’s strict warning that her daughter and Ryan shouldn’t be alone together, Alyssa continues developing her relationship with Ryan behind her mothers back.  Their relationship grows more and more intimate, and culminates in Alyssa almost getting herself killed.  Ryan is pretty much a heart-throb and it’s really easy to not only like but also feel sorry for his character.  I’ll let you decide if that’s wise or not.  The cinematography and plot are both wonderful, I’d say my least favorite thing about the film was the music.  Jennifer Lawrence sings through a lot of the film and to be honest she sounds very Fiona/Joss Stone and it’s sort of boring.  But aside from that, which really has a small part in the film, I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching this one.  How many bite the dust?  Five or so during the course of the film, but how many the killer has actually killed is probably much more.  Number of killers?  One.  Boobs?  None.  Cheap Thrills?  None.  Actual creeps given?  A couple, actually.  Raven’s Scream Meter Says:  4 out of 5 screams.  Definitely worth a watch, if you don’t mind thrillers that are not particularly gory.  Can definitely be watched with or by teens.