House Hunting (2012) User Reviews

Keeps you interested for a disappointment.

[leankushcloud · 5/10 · 8 December 2014]

This movie was very interesting i'll give it that, but when it comes down to the main plot it gets very confusing, then when you think you understand what's going on you just get another twist. So going by what I put together I am going to try to explain the holes in this story.

From the "House Owner", the only way to leave is for one family to stay, but the daughter of one family was able to get out of the.., lets say "dimension", by walking away from the house backwards( She also sings a nursery rhyme about the house while doing so, but it was never discussed if you had to say it or not) after thinking I understood this story there was a few side stories going own with the families making you think this is happening for a reason.

These stories though seem worthless when you try to put it all together once you get to the ending. There is a girl who has had her tongue cut off for unknown reasons, it is then known that she is from another family who was stuck in the house dimension just like the on-going family, yet the movie has you guessing she's a big part of the plot. The son in a family ran over a girl who was jogging being scared he left her for dead, later in the movie it is shown and pointed to the women who was ran over was somehow related to the "House Owner", and also the Father of a family bought the property of the house hinting that both families have done something wrong to the original owners of the house, and this was some ghostly revenge.

All of that is thrown away from the fact that the girl with no tongue was just from a recent family who was stuck in the house, and towards the ending the daughter of a family is left alive and is found by another family who's the next victims of the haunted house putting her in the shoes of the girl with no tongue when she was found on the road, but this is the kicker, it is revealed that the "House Owner" was the one who cuts off the girl's tongue because in the last scene the daughter had her tongue cut off for the fact she can't tell the new victims what's happening.

Taking all this in you realize it's just a cycle that happens to unlucky families looking for a new home making all the sub-plots basically filler and makes you angry for trying to put all of this together.

Don't get me wrong it's a good movie, but there's just too many holes.

The Wrong House? Depends on which side of the threshold you are standing...

[paul_haakonsen · 6/10 · 7 July 2013]

Initially I had expected something else from this movie as it was brandishing the label "a new chapter in haunted house stories. Brutal, original, and eerie as hell." on the DVD cover.

However, that being said, then it isn't a bad movie, far from it. I enjoyed it thoroughly, despite it not being a haunted house movie in the sense that I had hoped.

The story is captivating and interesting, especially as you are just given small bits and pieces of what is going on. And director Eric Hurt does a good job at building up suspense. Essentially, the story is about two families who are looking for a new house to call home, who happen to come across the same house. A beautiful old house with 70 acres of land, a deal that seems to good to be true. And it was. Once there, the two families find out that they are unable to leave the lot, and tensions start to rise and their pasts come to haunt them.

The house itself was nicely put together, with just the right amount of stuff to make it seem like a scary place, while on the inside, the house seemed like an ordinary, livable home.

The characters in the movie were nicely fleshed out as well, each with their own secrets and skeletons in their closets. And it was the kind of characters that you easily got a liking or a hatred towards, so thumbs up on the character development.

As for the people cast for the various roles, then they had some good names to the cast list. And the reasons for me buying this movie, aside from believing it to be a proper haunted house movie, was because Marc Singer is in the movie. I haven't really seen him since "V" and "Beast Master", so it was a treat to see him on the screen again. Art LaFleur also did a good job in the movie. But most noticeable was Rebekah Kennedy, playing Hanna - the girl with no tongue.

Despite "The Wrong House" being a different kind of haunted house type of movie, it provides good entertainment, and the story is a good one, revealing just enough to keep the audience in the dark and guessing at what's going on. The ending however, well I didn't see that one coming, but it was a really great way to end off the movie.

Good Premise/Poor Execution

[hausrathman · 4/10 · 29 May 2013]

A strange supernatural barrier prevents two house-hunting families from leaving the estate of a house they visited. Whenever they try to leave, they always find themselves back at the front door. This is certainly a good premise for a horror movie. It would be ideal for an episode of The Twilight Zone, but Rod Sterling would have properly milked the implications of the premise. The two families, which seethe with tensions and secrets, seem to accept to readily their imprisonment. They don't bother to explore the most basic questions. Why specifically are they trapped in the house? Do they have any links to the place or each other? More importantly, they also have a survivor from a previous imprisonment with them. Although she had been rendered mute by the removal of her tongue, she is intelligent and certainly able to communicate, but they don't even bother to ask her questions for the most part. Still, the film manages to convey some tension and suspense. It also benefits from some good performances. However, it falls apart completely at the end. Near the end we discover that at least one member of each family had some connection to the family that originally lived in the house. Unfortunately, that ruins the film because it ends with two more families being drawn into the building. Did both of those families also wrong the original occupants? What about the two families that we trapped in the house prior to the start of this film. Did they also wrong the original occupants? It doesn't make sense that all of those people have a personal connection to the spirits in the house.

House Hunting: Wasted ideas

[Platypuschow · 3/10 · 27 August 2017]

Two families visit an isolated show home only to discover that they can't leave. The house doesn't lock them in, they just can't leave the area as whichever way they turn they find themselves back at the house.

The house kindly provides food and not so kindly lots of ghostly mind games that drive a wedge between the families and each other.

Initially I found myself enjoying the film but the creators quickly ran out of ideas and it found itself in the realm of one of those horror flicks that makes the rules up as it goes along and never really explains anything.

Starring Art LaFleur this could have been something quite special if the creators had thought the whole thing through. It's like the television show Lost (2004) where it became evident the writers never had some clever ending to explain everything that happened and just went with the generic one everyone had guessed in episode 1.

The Good:

Art LaFleur

Decent start

The Bad:

Poor middle & end

I guess girls these days can't write...

[domagojpint · 3/10 · 14 March 2021]

This movie is not that bad, it's interesting, acting is good, the plot is creepy enough to be a decent horror, it has something worth watching, but, there is one thing that makes absolutely no sence. After a few months being in the house they for the first time ask the mute girl what is going on. Months and months being trapped in the house just wasn't enough time for anyone to ask her anything. And she can't speak because her tongue is cut of so she can't explain to them anything in any way, and for months she seats with them in the same room and not explaining what happened to her. That means that she can't write or show them any clues or signs. And of course at the end we see another girl who lost her tongue and the thing goes on in circles. Because they didn't learn how to write...

Loved or hated by not to be ignored.

[Film4545 · 31 May 2013]

Thank god.. focusing on the story...this is how indie films should be made. It's about time we saw more smart horror films and less of the crappy gore that's slopped out these days. The DVD cover from redbox had us expecting something totally different (we didn't expect much actually) but as the story got going we were saw that we were in for an original experience, something we had to actually pay attention to. I'm sure a lot of people who are looking for a blood bath or don't have decent attention spans are going to be very disappointed, but for serious fans of the thriller / suspense genre this is not to be missed. There are a few holes here and there, but even those kept me guessing and opened up interesting questions for the viewer. Hope we see much more work from these people. This is well worth your time if you have a decent attention span.

Interesting Sisyphean psychological horror weakened by unsatisfactory wrap up

[The_Dead_See · 5/10 · 3 June 2013]

House Hunting was definitely worth the watch, especially if you enjoy psychological horror indies along the lines of "Triangle" or "The Corridor".

IMDb has it miscategorized as 'Thriller' but rest assured this is straight-up horror, not thriller. There's not much gore to speak of but the supernatural aspects are clear and evident. Get it right IMDb!

Quick, spoiler-free plot summary: Marc Singer (sans eyebrows for some odd reason) leads his family to an isolated bargain property for a real estate viewing. When they get there they are joined by a second family who arrives at the same time to view the house. The second family is headed up by Art LaFleur who puts in a stellar performance as a gruff, over-protective father on the edge of sanity. The two families soon find that they cannot leave the premises, and that every turn just brings them back to the same house. As time wears on, each family member in the house experiences their own unique psychological strains and each is haunted by past tragedies or wrongdoings. The strain inevitably pits them against each other.

The unfortunate weakness of the movie was the unsatisfactory climax that didn't adequately explain the WHY of the phenomenon. Hints are given, messily, but in the end it's never fully resolved. As the credits rolled you get the sense that writer/director Eric Hurt may not have had a fully developed idea in his head after all, and that the vagueness might have come from a place of indecision or poor scriptwriting rather than a more intellectual or intentional origin.

If you can handle those films where you're left saying "It was good, but I just didn't get it", then House Hunting may be a good addition to your viewing list. It's certainly stronger and less clichéd than most of the other indies available on Netflix instant right now.

Worth watching

[lilvrapstar2005 · 7/10 · 15 January 2013]

If the American dream for most families is buying a house, then for the two families headed to what they think is a simple open house, that dream is about to become a nightmare. A psychological thriller mixed in with your traditional ghost story, that is smart, tense and well conceived, overall a good movie with a well thought out plot. Acting wasn't fantastic but this did not detract too much from the movie which was overall quiet enjoyable. Low budget movie with a great story line. I couldn't imagine that this movie would make it to cinema release but it wouldn't be a bad DVD to rent. They need a better DVD cover tho. The picture makes it look like it will be a gory horror, which its not.

House Hunting - skip this one.

[drdeathforpresident · 3/10 · 22 April 2013]

Two families trapped in a house goes ballistic and mass paranoia ensues. There is the ol' blame game fingers pointed to whose at fault when they should be focused on getting the hell out of there. I guess these guys do not believe in strength in numbers since their main goal is to waste everyone anyways. There is a meaningless rape scene which turns to lies piled upon more lies, someone gets their noggin bashed in with a soup can (so much for soup being good for you), mom hangs herself and dad gets an axe in the back. Oh, I almost forgot, there is a mute waif who resembles Fiona Apple and I do not know why she is in the film. All she does is observe the other families slowly going mad. This is not a thriller - more borderline horror since the death scenes are pretty gruesome.

Sometimes a house is not a home

[movieman_kev · 6/10 · 21 March 2013]

Despite starting off very badly, clichéd, and woodenly acted, I choose to stick with this movie about two families (one headed by ol' Beastmaster himself, Marc Singer) who go out to look at a quaint little house nestled on a 70-acre wooded lot only to find that some entity is keeping them trapped there. It got better and for awhile this psychological paranormal horror film was hitting the right notes and aside from some quibbles as the movie moved on some minor, one major (that I'll neglect to go into more detail about as I wish to keep this review spoiler-free), I ended up enjoying the film more than I had anticipated. It's currently streaming on Netflix so give it a go, just be aware that it has flaws.

good idea badly acted and directed

[dwuksta · 3/10 · 28 April 2013]

You quickly realize from the opening scenes that you're in for a badly acted and predictable horror flick. The plot idea of being held captive in a house by a mysterious controlling force is kinda cool, but it soon gets old with bad direction and unrealistic acting. No real surprises, plenty of senseless dying, and several annoying clichés popping up that you'll soon recognize when you see it. On the positive side, if you enjoy this film, then lucky for you, there's no doubt a huge back log of films you have yet to discover in the same genre. Luckily when the movie finished, there was a re-run of 'Hart To Hart' on the TV, so the night wasn't a complete loss. I give it 2 stars for the story idea and 1 star for the canned stew that kept on giving.

Pleasantly surprised

[patrick-wheeler-31-914173 · 8/10 · 21 April 2013]

Occasionally a film may fly under the radar as to how creepy and thought provoking it may be, and this film is indeed one of them. I was interested in the beginning, and unlike another reviewer, once the "one month later" screen appeared, I began to feel that a promising start may have ran out of steam, as I prefer taut films such as this one to take place in "real" time, as morning to noon, to night to next day we're with the characters, which really draws one in, and I was pleasantly surprised to see this one played out quite well. This film is well worth viewing, and I would highly recommend to anyone else looking for a creepy unnerving little film to keep to one the edge

Definitely Worth Watching!!! A must see!!!

[Topaz1922 · 7/10 · 14 June 2013]

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised to see a Phase 4 film that I actually liked!

Despite it being billed as a low budgeted, straight to video movie, it delivered! Not only was it scary but it has a great twist and ending!

You would do yourself a great disservice by judging this movie too early or based on negative reviews.

It is dark, scary and has a realistic plot that is easy to relate to. Marc Singer did an excellent job at a dual "role".

Watching this movie will make you never want to go house hunting again and if you do, you will be sure to bring extra clothes and food!

Let's focus on anything except figuring out what the Christ is going on here!

[Properbowl7 · 5/10 · 27 May 2013]

House Hunting is an interesting story that gives a unique spin on the "ghost house" type of horror movie. Two families are tricked into getting stuck in a purgatory like state on 70 acres of land (which is a great deal by the way!), and must work together to get out alive, unfortunately for them, working together couldn't go any worse than it did. Actually, working together didn't go all that bad either because the last thing these people do is anything productive to figure out what the hell is going on.

Charlie Hayes, our protagonist is doing a little house hunting with his wife Susan and daughter Emmy (Susan is not Emmy's mother and they do not get along, and the discord between the two feels very forced and unemotional) when they decide to check out a house on a 70 acre plot. Meanwhile, Don with his wife Leslie and son Jason make their way to the same plot after an ominous tip from some weirdo in a cheesy red hunting cap. After arriving at the beautiful location and meeting the other family, the Hayes attempt to leave but instead crash into a tree after swerving to avoid running over some Fiona Apple lookalike. After being rescued by Dom and his family, they make their way back to the house only to have the girl completely lose it. Unfortunately she can't say why she's freaking out because someone cut out her tongue. The families attempt to leave.... only to discover that they can't. They try again, and again, and again to no avail. Apparently they tried 23 times. But that's fine, they'll just stay put, because someone will come, right?

For the budget and caliber of movie, HH was overall good but had trouble keeping my attention at times. I feel that the plot unfolded too slowly with too many drawn out scenes that did little for character or plot development. It wasn't until the second half of the movie that characters start to really show their emotions and the pace quickens to an enjoyable point. A good analogy is that it's an 80-minute movie stretched out to two hours.

Personally, my only problem with the movie besides the pacing and length was with the characters. The inner conflicts, conflicts between characters, and the development was well done; that wasn't the problem. My problem is that none of them are acting like how any person I know would act in this situation.

Think about this; they're stuck in a house on a plot of land, when they try to leave by road they just end up back at the front of the house. Walking through the woods just leads to woods, and over the hills just leads to more hills. Their only clue is something disguised as an ugly dude in a red hunting hat. THIS ISN'T NORMAL! But none of them seem the least bit bothered that they've entered some sort of parallel dimension. These people act like they're lost on a road trip or had car trouble, not stuck in a house because they've entered purgatory. Even the most logical and rational person I know would quickly admit they've entered something unworldly here and they need to figure something out.

At one point we get the "One Month Later" screen and see the two men leaving to scout the area, seemingly implying they're doing this for the first time. REALLY?!? Personally I would have scouted out every inch of that ground and torn that house apart looking for clues. All these people do is sit around and complain about how they're going to be sick if they eat beef stew one more time. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!

Anywho, after you watch these people sit around and argue about their genitalia for the middle hour of the movie, the last half hour unfolds at a great pace with good development. It's just that whole middle hour or so that really got old.

Enough is enough

[carloenrico-salvadori · 2/10 · 2 May 2013]

This movie is part of a horror sub-genre we could define as "cyclic movies", where at the end one or more of the characters return where they were at the beginning, or, like in this case, where other characters were at the beginning. I can name a lot of them: "House", "Farmhouse", "Reeker" , "Dark Country", and so on. I have to admit this is not my favourite horror genre, but in everyone of the four titles I have previously mentioned I can find something interesting. This one, instead, is really boring, and its length is clearly utterly exorbitant because of the really poor script. Thus, if you are not a die-hard fan of "paranormal house" movies I strongly suggest not to loose time with this one.

As bad as I expected

[nanettemeau · 1/10 · 6 September 2022]

After watching this messy, senseless and ludicrous flick I decided to go through some of the "critic reviews." These reviews are the more professional comments in the critic review section of IMDB.

First I agree with one of the reviews, "The more thought you give it the less sense it makes and the more the two concepts compete with one another." Basically this film is out of balance and makes absolutely no sense drawing in the good who don't deserve harm mixed and pulled in with a couple of bad eggs. This is what made the movie Very poor. The ending was horrible because it was unfair and also messy and nonsensical. There could be a better plot but the director and writer missed that Apple. It left me thinking to myself why in the world would it end like this. And no it's not an original horror flick because I've seen probably two others that are similar to this cyclical sadistic confusing and unfair evil mix. Do I recommend it? Not at all. It's truly not a good movie.

Mixed up mess

[blakk-74767 · 3/10 · 19 November 2018]

The acting wasn't bad and the general premise was great, but executed oh so badly! Stupid plot holes and things that make no sense. It started ok but I ended up wishing it would just end..

Seven cans of stew sitting on the shelf...

[hitchcockthelegend · 7/10 · 28 April 2013]

House Hunting (AKA: The Wrong House) is written and directed by Eric Hurt. It stars Marc Singer, Art LaFleur, Hayley Dumond, Janey Gioiosa, Paul McGill, Rebeka Kennedy and Victoria Vance. Music is by Jason Lewis and Cody James and cinematography by Todd Free (Eric Hurt as well).

Two families with "issues" are out searching for a new home and are drawn to an isolated farmhouse out in the sticks. Upon arrival it soon becomes clear that something is not right, more so when when they rescue a fleeing girl whose tongue appears to have been cut out. Desperately trying to get away from the house, the families find that no matter which way they drive, they always end up back at the house...

Some on line sites have the film listed as a thriller, this is a mistake, House Hunting is definitely a horror movie, in fact it's a worthy 18 certificate in the UK. It's a film that has slipped under the radar somewhat and is far better than its unknown standing hints at. On one proviso, mind!

It isn't a spoiler to say that this is in keeping with the sub-genre of horror that uses a Twilight Zone type mystery at its core, since it's revealed very early on that these families are in some sort of purgatory. Similar films to this would be Dead End and Triangle, so if that type of repeat "WTF is going on?" formula is your thing then this is well worth taking a peak at.

It's never a terrifying film, one to make you jump out of your seats at regular intervals, and even though there is some serious blood moments, gore hounds are unlikely to be praising this from the roof tops for fulfilling their blood induced hunger. But it has a wonderfully eerie vibe to it, a sense of doom that director Hurt enhances with close up filming and oblique angles, while the continuing presence of spectral beings, their reasons for haunting keeping the mystery element strong, ensures there's edginess in the plotting.

The acting is decent for this type of production, as is the tech credits elsewhere. This is a well crafted horror mystery picture. True, Hurt leans heavily on influences, with a bit of Agatha Christie, a bit of The Machinist and a bit taken from films like the ones mentioned earlier, meaning it's not exactly ripe with freshness. However, Hurt has put is own spin on the formula and thankfully his finale is suitably rewarding.

As horror continues to eat itself with a ream of remakes and sequels, it's nice to see little known horror film makers at least trying to make a new mark. This is worthy of support so give it a chance and you may be as pleasantly surprised as I was. 7/10

If you liked Dead End, you'll like this.

[jmollyneaux-256-853555 · 3/10 · 18 January 2019]

Very interesting story, based on Jean-Paul Sartre's - No Exit, I guessed it would be similar to Dead End (2003)

I'll be honest, the acting seemed a little forced and as a whole it didn't seem as well put together as I'd hoped... I wasn't sure whether to continue past the 10 minute mark.

I'm glad I did though.

Apart from a few plot holes and the aforementioned acting... Its a pretty good movie.

The premise is brilliant, if not a little predictable; but I think it could have been executed better.

Still worth a watch though.

Who's hunting who

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 9 February 2021]

I do like low budget movies that have an interesting take or story to tell. This is one of those cases. It will not be everyones cup of tea, but it does have the quality (acting and script wise) to keep those interested that engage and actually care like I do.

There may be a lot of questions this raises and a lot of things may feel a bit ... weird to say the least (yes characters do act strange - then again who is to tell, what anyone would do in a crazy situation like that?). Interesting take and interesting movie, with quite a few shockers and twists to go along with that.

very original idea but NOT worth watching, sorry

[wewilsons · 3/10 · 19 May 2013]

PROS it is an original idea, I've never seen another plot that is similar to the story line in this flick. The actors often do a fair job with weak dialog and scene construction, Sometimes the acting is very good. The story is very difficult to read into. it is not predictable in most instances. You do try and figure out what the ^&*% is going on with the characters. The end was strong

CONS it is too often slow the time-line is not believable, The story need more supporting scenes and less slow build up. It had more than enough slow scenes The story line takes a few odd turns that didn't seem to support it. For such an original story they could have easily blended int supporting scene content.

SUM A good idea that was not fully realized in the screen play We ended up FFWD to the end because it was so darn slow. Not worth watching the whole things through. Sorry

Unique and original horror movie,

[SapphirePanther · 9/10 · 14 May 2014]

House hunting is one of the most unique and best horror movies that I have ever seen. This movie is like no other horror movie I have seen before, taking on a bizarre chain of events it is completely original. The best way to watch this movie is to know nothing about the story in it, you should go into it fresh minded and you will be pleasantly surprised. There are small similarities of The Shining, Evil Dead and The Cabin In The Woods. The only thing that I would fault about this movie is the lack of confusion and natural reaction somebody would have if faced with the situation that the characters did in the movie. This is a must see movies and will leave any horror fan more than satisfied.

Feel free to look around, you'll like what you see

[saphira_dragon-80270 · 6/10 · 15 January 2019]

Interesting topic! Not what we expected. We enjoyed it! Not too bad!

Welcome To Lot Number 6485. Feel Free To Take A Look Around!

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 5/10 · 14 January 2021]

Okay this one, kinda cool. A little scary. But really.....not too much impressive about it. 5/10

Interesting start, but...

[wdavidmiller · 5/10 · 24 January 2021]

This movie could have been so much better, but it was cursed with the original Twilight Zone (1960-64) format: Riveting beginning (5 minutes), dull exposition about relationships (18 minutes), then an interesting ending (2 minutes). This movie follows the same pattern, but the exposition section is over an hour long.

Exposition slows down a movie, but it has its place. Foreign films-especially from Europe-usually commit a good section of the film to exposition. It works in those films, maybe because when you watch a film by Wim Wenders or Ingmar Bergman, you expect it to rest almost entirely on dialogue and a strong focus on relationships. House Hunting (2013) leans heavily upon exposition, but it's in the wrong genre for that. When people watch horror movies they expect it to be plot-driven with a heavy focus on the problem. This movie establishes a great problem at the beginning, then abandons the problem for most of the rest of the movie. Instead of focusing on a solution to the problem, the actors are given s script which focuses on soap opera relationships.

Maybe if I had understood from the beginning this aspect of the film I would have enjoyed the movie more. Their relationships do help them unfold the problem, but not enough. Nevertheless I do enjoy a good foreign film, so maybe the problem is simply in my expectations.