The Perfect House

Director(s) - Kris Hulbert (First Timers) and Randy Kent (Wizard)
Starring - Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Jonathan Tiersten (Sleepaway Camp), and John Philbin (Tombstone)
Release Date - 2012
Genre - Horror
Tagline - "Every house has a past"
Format - DVD (Personal Collection) (Screener)

Rating (out of 5):

     Some movies seem to speak for themselves and beg to be seen.  I typically shy away from the films that everyone recommends because they tend to let me down. However, once in a blue moon I will see people recommending a film and it actually looks fun.  Sometime ago, when I was first brought on to Horror Society, someone mentioned the movie The Perfect House.  The film starred Sleepaway Camp stars Felissa Rose and Jonathan Tiersten so I was curious to see how the film played out.  I did a little searching and was unable to find the film and over time I completely forgot about the damned thing.  Then, one day a few weeks back, I received word that Wild Eye would be handling the release. My love for Wild Eye and my curiosity to see this film had me as excited as a virgin on prom night.  I reached out to WE and they were kind enough to send me a review copy and for that I thank you guys so much!
     The film is a clever anthology of sorts that follows a young couple as they attempt to buy the "perfect house." The realtor shows the couple the house and as we move from room to room we see flashbacks of the horrendous crimes that have taken place there over the years.  The first crime took place decades ago when a tornado was about to touch down and a family sought safety in the basement.  The mother is a bit of a bitch and hates her husband because she suspects him of sleeping with her daughter.  Her son is jealous of the attention his sister gets from his father and in moment the two children react killing both their parents.  Realizing the other child killed a parent, the sister reacts first and kills her brother before cleaning up her mess as the storm passes over. The second story follows a serial killer who locks his helpless victims in a cage in the basement of the home.  He has a tight schedule that he has to keep to.  He abducts, tortures, and kills according to which day of the week it is.  He has also been keeping another girl in a cage where he rapes her regularly and uses her as a muse.  That is until one day she is able to trick the serial killer and stabs him with a finger bone in the neck.  The third, more modern tale, follows an older man who is sick of his stuck up neighbor, his unfaithful wife, slutty daughter, and spoiled kids so he invites them over to his home for dinner with a more sinister motive.  He invites them in, knocks the husband unconscious, and drags them all to his basement.  He forces the two young boys to fight til the death before killing the victor and tricking their mother into thinking one is alive before ultimately killing her.  He then takes the slutty daughter upstairs to the bathroom to clean herself up but she tries to fight back with scissors forcing him to killer her as well.  He then handles the father with a weedeater which is what sparked this whole affair. 

     I have seen so many anthologies in my short life and reviewed a good majority as well.  Some have a hard time keeping them together while others do such an amazing job that you praise the writers ability to tie them all together.  With that being said, this film was the perfect anthology film.  It was able to tie all the films together flawlessly and made it feel like it was not an anthology film altogether.  I have not, and never will, see an anthology that well written again.  The acting is solid by the entire cast.  Everyone brought their all and that helped the film out tremendously.  I did learn two things after watching this film.  You can't understand a word Felissa Rose is saying when she's screaming and Jonathan Tiersten is an amazing actor.  No joke.  His segment was filled to the brim with pure talent and if I don't see him returning to film with more roles like this then I may give up hope in horror cinema.  The stories for this one is nothing new but they are fun and well written and acted.  Sadly, they all do suffer from pacing issues and that ruins some of the scenes.  A little editing could save that tremendously.  Finally, the film does have several on screen kills and special effects that are all solid.  The kills are nothing original but they are brutal and depraved making this one a well rounded horror flick.  Overall, The Perfect House is a great film that has some great deaths, lots of blood, and an amazing performance from Sleepaway Camp's Jonathan Tiersten.   Another great film from Wild Eye so check it out!