Title: Open House
Actors/Director/Anything Worth Mentioning Right Away: Adrienne Barbeau stars in this movie with some guy named Joseph Bottoms who I should probably recognize but don’t.
Introduction: I bought this on VHS for an undisclosed sum on eBay. I’m not sure whether or not it is available on DVD, and it doesn’t help that there are also movies with this same title from 2004 and 2010. (This is the 1988 version)
Location: In a small town where, apparently, all people care about are radio stations and real estate.
Plot: This is one of those “hidden gems” horror movies because despite the scenes where you could jump or flinch because of the unexpected, there also is a somewhat interesting serial killer type of plot here. A man- who is the main bad dude- is murdering people (specifically young women) in homes that are available for purchase. Basically, if you’re looking to buy a home in the area, it is very possible that when you show up to tour the house someone might be dead in a closet or bathtub somewhere. Just remember the first rule of real estate: Don’t freak out, and don’t tell the potential buyers until after all of the paperwork is signed. So this comes through its cycle of police trying to catch this guy who for some reason calls into a radio show and says the victims deserve what they got. The radio show host happens to be married to or dating a realtor who eventually gets kidnapped by who police dub “the Open House Killer”. Though it plays out somewhat expectedly, it still scores points for having an original idea for the plot and also some of the genuinely scary moments. When it comes full tilt at the end, and we hear this poor guy’s back story (Which doesn’t really garner him any sympathy), it actually all plays out very nicely.
Acting: It’s pretty good, I have nothing against Adrienne Barbeau and it’s especially nice to see her in a movie not directed by John Carpenter.
Production: It’s from the 1980’s and it looks like it.
Sex/Nudity: The two main characters do have a sex scene. And I’m warning you… Joseph Bottoms is HAIRY.
Special Effects: Again, it’s the 1980’s.
Overall Verdict: As far as plots go, this has one of the most original and justified that I’ve possibly ever seen. Okay, so maybe this homeless guy getting kicked out of the house he was squatting in shouldn’t have sent him on a killing spree, and maybe it wouldn’t hold up as a remake today because everyone knows that right now it’s a buyer’s market, making it hard to justify his complaint about houses being too expensive… But, umm… Where was I going with this?
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