CREDIT: RELATIVITY MEDIA
Elisabeth Shue and Jennifer Lawrence star in House at the End of the Street. People who love suspense films should flock to see this one.

House at the End of the Street (2012)

In a quiet town, on the nicest street, one young girl discovers that even the deepest, darkest secrets may be hiding something sinister.

House at the End of the Street is the second feature film to be made by director Mark Tonderai, whose previous film Hush was released back in 2008, and it is heavy with the influence of the great master of suspense Alfred Hitchcock. House at the End of the Street tells the story of Sarah, a recent divorcee who moves to a new town with her daughter Elissa in an effort to get a fresh start on life. The house that Sarah chooses for them is on a charming street, though she soon discovers that the house next door holds a sinister secret. Many years ago, Carrie-Ann killed her parents in cold blood and disappeared into the woods; now her surviving brother Ryan still lives in the house, haunted by the ghosts of his past. When Elissa and Ryan start getting close, his tightly woven web of lies starts to unravel, revealing the horrible truth one step at a time.

House at the End of the Street stars a pre-Hunger Games Jennifer Lawrence as Elissa. (House's filming was completed back in 2010 and was held back by various delays.) Lawrence has proven through her string of tough-girl roles — such as Mystique in X-Men First Class and Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games — that she has what it takes to get dark and gritty in films. Suspense seems to be yet another genre in which Lawrence shines.

Max Thieriot steps into the role of Ryan, the innocent-seeming brother of a deranged killer. Thieriot plays creepy exceptionally well, and though he is a relative newcomer to the film scene, he shines nonetheless.

Elisabeth Shue brings to life the role of Sarah, whose good intentions of starting a new life put both herself and her daughter in great danger. As always, Shue is both delightful and captivating.

It's not the cast, the editing or the downright creepy tone of the film that makes House at the End of the Street a chilling good time. It's the layers upon layers of secrets, mistaken identities and macabre family legacies that make the film so enjoyable. Taking notes from the great man himself, Alfred Hitchcock, House at the End of the Street rings truer to Psycho than Scream. Not only does the nod to Hitchcock make film buffs squeal with delight, but by following in the footsteps of someone who knows suspense (and how to pull it off), the flick is refreshingly frightening.

If you're not a huge fan of convoluted plotlines and layers that beg to be uncovered, and if you get seriously creeped out by true suspense, then you may want to steer clear. But if you're looking for a scary good time, House at the End of the Street is the one to do it!

Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5