Christopher Webster [Celluloid 01.06.12] horror



Obviously, I don't believe for a second that Silent House was filmed in one shot. I know it sounds possible, but if you think about it, that would mean staging and acting out an entire feature length horror movie again and again until you got it perfect - a test of endurance no performer or crew could undergo. And if they did, then Silent House should be lauded as a groundbreaking achievement. I'm sure the film plays like it's a single, uncut shot, but it's gotta be trickery. Artful in itself, agreed, but trickery and marketing nonetheless.

But anyway, this is the trailer for the American remake of the Uruguyan horror film The Silent House ("La Casa Muda"). It was co-directed by Chris Kentis & Laura Lau, who did Open Water and Grind previous to this.


Synopsis:
Trapped inside her family's haunted lakeside retreat, a young woman (Olsen) descends into madness..


To the film's credit, it stars Elizabeth Olsen who is destined to be a huge star after her turn in Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene

Open Road Films is releasing Silent House in limited theaters starting March 9 this winter.

You might also like

Rev Wright (10 years ago) Reply

MEH

The original was flawed and maybe the Yamks will work these issues out, but I dunno...

Missphitts (10 years ago) Reply

I agree the original was lackluster and failed to wow with the one shot take as films like Children of Men did within the film. Can't watch the trailer but I'm not very worried about seeing it. Now MMMM is something I need to see.

USERNAME (10 years ago) Reply

"acting out an entire feature length horror movie again and again until you got it perfect - a test of endurance no performer or crew could undergo"

What? I don't know what you mean, Theatre productions do this kind of length every night...

Rev Wright (10 years ago) Reply

True, but you also have the issue of matching blocking with camera position and framing, practical FX, lighting and sound recording. With theatre you have a fixed audience position (generally) and all crew and back stage, on a shoot like this, there is so much more that can get caught on camera and go wrong.

USERNAME (10 years ago) Reply

Just sayin... tricky, frustrating, but not the limit of human endurance.

Most stage shows are damn complex nowdays - u seen 'O'?

And Russian Arc was a bit more complex, or even the 10 min sequences in Children of Men.

Rev Wright (10 years ago) Reply

'a test of endurance no performer or crew could undergo'

oh yeah, utter nonsense ;)

My longest single take video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGr9HYaR0Sw

sonaboy (10 years ago) Reply

I think there's a few films now that are continuous shots. As long as the concept is simple, there are few characters, and your crew is large enough, I don't see why it couldn't be done.
PVC-1 is also a movie that's one continuous take.

Michael Allen (10 years ago) Reply

Pig came out in 2010 starring Andrew Howard that had a continuous 60 min' take. It was hard to watch, but I kept viewing to see the process.

Leave a comment

Your Comment