Open House (1987)

Just what I expected

It is a performances centric movie

What a freaking movie. So many twists and turns. Absolutely intense from start to finish.

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

The sheer amount of non-sense in this film is just unbearable. The characters just 'happen' to know things, the main villain can freely walk in everywhere (and I mean everywhere!), he has great detective skills and seems like he can even teleport. You get every cliché you can think of - killer with some psycho issues that are never really explain, the tough detective cop who shoots first and asks questions later, the main hero's girlfriend who's there to show some skin and get kidnapped at the end, some (in this case very tame) murders (even though this is supposed to be a slasher), the helpful buddy friends, etc. I couldn't wait for it to end. It was unwatchable.

I assume that they made "Open House" with the sole aim of appealing to teenage boys, although it doesn't have as much nudity as I hoped for. While the plot has a weirdo killing people in houses for sale, I mostly derived that realty must be one of the most unpleasant jobs. Not because of anything that happens in the movie (there's nothing to take seriously here), but because I would hate to have a job where I have to bend the truth all the time, with no guarantee of success. When I think of realty, I think of "Glengarry Glen Ross" and Annette Bening's character in "American Beauty".Anyway, "Open House" is nothing special, but still kind of fun to watch. I've always wondered if Adrienne Barbeau's hairdo qualifies as an afro.PS: Jag Mundhra is now making a movie about Sonia Gandhi.

Open House (1987) * (out of 4) There's no question that by the time 1987 came along the slasher genre was on its last legs. The majority of the big guys were still being released to theaters but with smaller box office takes and the majority of trash was heading straight to VHS. Just about every holiday and scenario were used just as long as innocent people were slaughtered and the psycho in OPEN HOUSE is after real estate agents who are charging too much for houses. One agent (Adrienne Barbeau) fears that she might be on the psycho's list so her DJ boyfriend (Joseph Bottoms) starts working with the police to try and capture the nut before more are slaughtered. There's no doubt that this is a horrid movie made by people with no intent on making a good movie. It's clear they were just trying to throw something (anything) together in order to take a few more breathes away from the genre that was clearly dying. There's not a single ounce of suspense to be found in any of the killings and the majority of the performances are downright bad. The screenplay is beyond a joke as we get some horrid dialogue but we also get a terrifically insane ending where the DJ, a radio psychiatrist, tries to get the killer to discuss his emotional pain!!! This film, on a technical level, certainly deserves the rarely given BOMB rating but I just can't do it because this thing is so incredibly bad that you'll probably find yourself laughing at most of it. Take one example where a man and woman lock themselves in a double door bathroom trying to keep the killer away. The killer can't get through door one so he then goes around to door two. The duo never try to escape and when the killer finally gets in he neither try to defend themselves and instead one just sits by while the other is killed waiting for their turn. The murders are all extremely silly including one where the killer takes the handle from a toilet plunger and puts razors on it. Fans of Barbeau will probably want to check this out since you'll at least get to see her naked. She's actually pretty good in the film as you can tell she's at least giving some effort. Bottoms is downright hilarious during certain moments as is Rudy Ramos as that guy who is usually screaming when it's not really necessary. OPEN HOUSE has a silly plot, silly murders, bad acting, bad special effects and all of this badness is what makes it worth sitting through at least once for fans of the genre. There's no question that it's a horrid movie but thankfully it's bad enough to where you can at least laugh at it and the final five-minutes are so brain dead, jaw-dropping insane that you'll be wishing there was a sequel.

"Open House" is a pretty mediocre, later than usual slasher film.**SPOILERS**A serial killer decides to attack the real estate agents showing expensive houses, but no one takes him seriously when he calls into Dr. David Kelley's, (Joseph Bottoms) radio show. He's in hot water of his own, and it's starting to take it's toll on his girlfriend, Lisa Grant, (Adrienne Barbeau) a real estate agent herself. As David continues to get calls from the killer, who continues to pick off more real estate agents, he figures it's just some nut who wants attention. When it finally appears that Lisa is the next target, David goes all out to stop the killer from taking her.The Good News: Even though this one came out a little too late for it to be in the initial slasher craze of the early 80s, this one still ain't that bad. The main thing that impressed me with this film is that the killer is incredibly giallo-inspired. We only see a small part of him every time he's on screen, and there is a characteristic that appears as well. Even though it isn't a black glove, the biker-gloves and cowboy boots work in the exact same manner, to let us see the killer without giving his appearance away. These are trademarks of the giallo films, and it was nice to see the influence in the film. The killer is easily the best features of the film, and that also includes some pretty nice deaths. There was some nice ones, including a hanging with a garden hose, a rather brutal electrocution, and the movie's claim to fame, an attack with a razor-bladed toilet-plunger. That is perhaps the best part of the film, which shows a little bit of creativity in there that most don't try to exude.The Bad News: The slow, slow pace of the film. It starts off hot, with a couple great kills immediately, but then it goes off and nothing much happens for an extended period of time. For the way the plot wants to go, it needs a bit tighter pacing than it has. This could be the main point drug up against the film as well: it's just too dull. The slashing sequences aren't that terrific, the gore is pretty non-existent for the kills on display, but the main thing to drudge up against it is the slow pace. Even the traditional inane dialog, lack of characterization, and weakly drawn-out explanations for plot holes that find themselves in common with most other films in the style.The Final Verdict: If you can forgive the traditional weaknesses inherit in slasher films, you might find some interest in this. It's a belated entry into the slasher series, so fans will want to give this a shot, but those not interested in these films will find nothing that will sway them into becoming fans.Rated R: Violence, full Nudity and some Language