Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘House at the End of the Street’

Written by Scott Edwards

Moving to a new place is never easy to do. It is difficult to find new friends and cliques to fit in with. This seems to be worse for kids who have to move with one of their parents due to breakups. What also makes this hard is figuring out who you can and cannot trust in your new surroundings as you are an outsider and have to work hard to be accepted. Once that is established however, you are in and ready to be part of the community and are privy to all types of gossip around town. 

Elissa and her mother Sarah Cassidy move to a new town after Sarah finalizes her divorce. Thinking that things will be better financially, since they are moving into a house with cheap rent, due to a murder that took place in a small-town years ago, Sarah is also hoping that this move will help to change their lives for the better, period. Elissa has a hard time fitting in with the local kids, when a secret is revealed that the prized youth are not as good as they are made out to be. Leaving a party early, Elissa is caught in the rain and is picked up by Ryan Jacobson.

Ryan seems like a well-rounded individual, coming from the home of a gruesome murder years ago. Elissa takes a liking to this lone survivor and finds comfort in his company. Sarah is not happy seeing her daughter grow up and tells the two that they are not to be alone in either house, ever. Thinking that her mom is trying to put an end to the relationship, Elissa goes against her mother’s wishes and continues to spend time with Ryan and wants to take it to the next level. But little does she know that Ryan has a secret of his own, one that involves his deranged little sister. 

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​Carrie Anne, Ryan’s little sister, killed her parents one night many years ago and was believed to be dead after running into the woods and never being seen again. But it turns out that Ryan locked her up in a secret compartment under the basement. Keeping her fed and sedated, Ryan wants to try to live a normal life again and have a relationship with Elissa, but when Carrie Anne escapes from her holding cell, Ryan changes into a completely different person. When catching up with his sister in the woods before she can raise more havoc, Ryan accidentally snaps her neck while keeping her quiet. Calling on his new love so he can tell her the truth, he is attacked by the local kids around the town at a battle of the bands concert and is forced to run again. Not knowing what to think about his past, Elissa tries to find him and keep him from getting into any further trouble, but she finds that doing this may cost her much more than expected. 

House at the End of the Street is a thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat while you try to figure out what is really happening between Ryan and his sister Carrie Anne. While Elissa tries to open up the relationship, Ryan backs away, heeding the warnings from her overbearing mother. While Elissa does not trust her mother, she finds that her mother may know best. While Ryan tries to be a loner and stay out of the eyes of the community, he is drawn back in and is punished for everything that his family’s house represents. The community may be right about the young man as a new Carrie Anne is found in the hidden room.

Even though this movie may not deliver the classical scares as some do, I like how the story line plays out in this film. You almost feel bad for your villain as everyone takes shots at him when all he is trying to do is protect his little sister. With a rebelling daughter, and overbearing mother, you do want to see the relationship between Elissa and Ryan grow. You would always like to see everyone be happy, even in a bad situation, but once the real Ryan comes to light and the story of his younger sister Carrie Anne is revealed, you may have the feeling of watching a classical thriller with a new world twist. Stay Scared.

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