Also released as The Wrong House, House Hunting is really a very unique psychological thriller that fans of the genre won’t want to miss. It takes the “psychological” aspect to a whole new level, without sacrificing any of the “thriller.”
Plot Overview
Charlie Hays, with his second wife Susan and daughter Emmy, has taken a trip out to see a foreclosed house that he is interested in buying. Upon arriving, they find that another family is there to take a look at the house as well. Figuring it must be a scheduling mistake, they try to get a hold of the real estate agent they made the appointments with, but neither family receives an answer.
After a while they realize that no one is going to show up and the visit is going nowhere, so they go to leave. upon trying to leave, the Hays hits a young girl with their car. She is dirty and distraught, and cannot speak due to the fact that her tongue has apparently been cut out. They do discover that her name is Hanna. They immediately decide to take her to the hospital. However, no matter where they drive, they keep coming back to the house.
Charlie refuses to give up but is forced to when the vehicle runs out of gas.
The two families, as well as the injured girl, are forced to stay the night in the house and wait for help. They find that the house contains just enough food for everyone there.
They end up being trapped in the house for several weeks, unable to leave, and every day finding just enough food for everyone – seven cans for seven people.
Then, one morning, they only find six.
My Thoughts
Honestly, this movie drew me in immediately. The Hays family has an interesting dynamic right from the start, and the tension begins to build very early on. The house is set in such a cozy, remote little area with seemingly unlimited charm and charisma. I wasn’t sure where this movie was going at the beginning, but as soon as they tried to drive away but found that they could not leave the house – I knew things were about to get really interesting. I was right.
Being stuck, cramped, with no access to the outside world and absolutely no idea what’s going on, both families start going stir crazy pretty quickly. Watching their behavior, especially considering they are complete strangers to each other, is very interesting. One would think that this situation would bring a group of average people together at least in some capacity, to try and survive and escape. What happens is quite the opposite. Relationships become strained and tensions rise. They begin distancing from each other, and all poor Hanna can do is watch.
I really like the house in this movie too. It essentially is a character of its own. It’s very much alive and it seems to enjoy its game.
On top of playing with your mind like nobody’s business, this movie holds its own in the scare department – no doubt about that. The abandoned-and-in-the-middle-of-nowhere house sets the scene perfectly. For a thriller, it has an impressive amount of jump scares, unexpected ones at that. After years and years of watching horror movies, I have gotten fairly good at predicting jump scares, and they often don’t scare me as much as they used to. Which is actually almost unfortunate because part of the fun of a horror movie is being scared, and having your heart race in a rush of adrenaline.
That being said, I am still a little jumpier than a lot of people so perhaps not everyone would say the same thing about this movie – but there were quite a few jump scares that actually worked on me. It was actually refreshing, not too many movies really get my heart going these days, so that added a lot of enjoyment to this movie for me.
Plot Twist of the Year
Plot twists really are a dime a dozen these days. It seems that in order for a movie to resonate, there needs to be some sort of crazy twist, or a huge reveal, or something really shocking in the end. While I don’t think it’s a requirement for a movie to be “good” I do see why it has become such a trend. I mean who doesn’t love a good plot twist?? I myself am a total sucker for them. I love anything that makes me think, and if you can successfully blow my mind into next week – congratulations, you’ve earned a life-long fan.
Let’s just say, I’m a life-long fan of this movie. The ending is something I absolutely NEVER would have seen coming, and it really did blow my mind. I thought about it for a long long time afterward, and I remember making my mom watch it with me a few weeks later so that there could be at least one person who knew what I was talking about and could appreciate it with me. If I remember correctly, she was just as impressed as I was.
Conclusion
House Hunting is charming and creepy at the same time. It’s subtle and the mystery deepens only quietly at first, serving to draw you in like nothing else. This movie had my undivided attention from the first five minutes until the very end – where it blew my mind like there was no tomorrow and left me wanting more. Wanting to share. Wanting to watch it again. House Hunting may not be for everyone – it lacks action and excitement, it’s not gory… but if you like a movie that plays with your mind then this is for you.
Have you seen House Hunting? Leave a comment and tell me what you thought! Did you expect the ending, or did it catch you off guard as much as it did for me?
Want to Watch?
It is available for purchase on Amazon:
Hi, Steph. Great post. I have not seen this movie yet, but you made me want to! 🙂 I actually stopped watching horrors because they were no longer scary. lol I will give this one a try because of your recommendation and come back and tell you how I liked it. I also like to watch them alone..can’t stand people trying to scare me while I’m watching (yeah, friends and family are like that. :))
I hear you about horrors no longer being scary! It’s rare these days that good ones come out. However, I would definitely say this is a good one! It’s not over the top scary – it does focus more on the psychological aspect, but it’s creepy enough 🙂 I hope you enjoy it and look forward to hearing your thoughts!
This is a great review, it makes me want to go and watch this movie right now and I’m not even a fan of horror movies!
The trailer just makes it that tiny bit more alluring. I will definitely be keeping my eye on the local cinema for when this one turns up. Thanks!
The movie actually came out in 2012! Perhaps the “coming soon” in the trailer was a little misleading, but it’s already out there and ready to watch whenever you want! Glad you enjoyed the review 🙂
Hi
This looks really good, I haven’t really seen a lot of thriller movies or horror movies but my girlfriend is majorly into them so I’m trying to broaden my horizons.
It seems hard to make a good horror movie these days but this one sounds really creepy without being over the top.
That’s exactly what it is! Creepy but not over the top. It’s creepy yes, but the focus is more on the psychological/mystery aspect. A good beginner horror movie for sure 🙂
I am always looking for good psychological thrillers that leave me questioning everything after I am done watching and it seems like this movie delivers on that promise. Great review! I can feel that you really enjoyed the movie from the passion in the way you describe everything, even the house itself. Are there a lot of jump out and scare you type of scenes in it?
I would say yes. There were quite a few jump scares that successfully made me jump! Do keep in mind though – I tend to scare a little easier than an average person. Either way though, it really is a great movie 🙂
First let me say that I “jump†very easily when it comes to thriller/horror movies, so if you jumped in this movie I can probably count that triple for me. Because of this I’ve stayed away from these types of movies for years. However, here recently I’ve watched a few in this genre and managed to find it “fun†to be scared. So, with that said, you’ve made this movie sound interesting enough that I just may have to add it to my list!
It is fun to be scared! Especially with someone else. I’m still wary of watching scary movies by myself lol. But, this one is really good, and while there are some good jump scares, I wouldn’t call it over the top. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
It is still clear as a bell the first scary movie I saw, Amityville House, based on a true story it scared the heck out of me. Ever since then I love a good scary movie, if it has some truth or fact to it then it really can make my skin crawl. Thanks for House Hunting to my attention, I will definitely put it on my watch list. cheers
Ah yes, I too quite love the Amityville story and all associated movies! House Hunting is quite good too of course, I really hope you enjoy it 🙂
Ooooooooooo…..I’m sold,Steph! I may regret it cause I am a scaredy “cat”!
Loved your review! Definitely got my attention, and I will be back for more! I am dying to see this film…no pun intended.
Thanks for doing a great job on your website for those of us who so love entertaining ourselves in a simple manner.
Rita
You’re very welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed reading 🙂 And I wouldn’t be too worried, it’s really not OVERLY scary. I do hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Great post! I really like this review because you’re going in depth of the movie i in a very detailed and thorough explanation. I am definitely going to bookmark this site and come back for more. Maybe even show it to a couple of friends?
Thanks Daniel, I’m so glad you enjoyed reading the review! Definitely show your friends, I’d love that! 🙂
Great review.
You definitely did a great job giving just enough info to get me hooked but not give anything away. I will be definitely watching this movie in the near future.
Thanks for the awesome review.
You’re welcome! Really glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for stopping by 🙂