Between Get Out, IT, Annabelle: Creation and a number of other successful titles, the horror genre had an incredibly strong 2017, and it looks like it's preparing to kick 2018 off right as well. In the first few weeks of the year we're already set to get Insidious: The Last Key and Mom and Dad, but now Netflix has revealed they have plans to release the seriously creepy looking The Open House. Check out the first trailer for the film below.
The Open House marks the first feature written and directed by newcomers Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote, and it looks like it is setting up some serious frights. The film centers on a single mother, Naomi (Piercey Dalton), and her teenage son, Logan (Dylan Minnette), who begin the story by temporarily moving out to a mountain house belonging to one of the mom's friends. It's a little off-putting at first, with the neighbors coming across as a bit too friendly, and scheduled open houses set up every Sunday while the friend tries to sell the place. Unfortunately, things go from off-putting to super scary very quickly, as Naomi and Logan come to the realization that someone from the open houses may have overstayed their welcome.
The movie looks like a sincerely creepy home invasion film, and it's worth pointing out that Netflix has had some notable horror wins in recent years. Collaborations with the fantastic Mike Flanagan yielded the fantastic Hush and amazing Gerald's Game for the streaming service, and more recently writer/director Zak Hilditch did a great job adapting Stephen King's 1922. Here's hoping that Netflix can keep the streak alive with The Open House, and eventually earn a reputation for putting out seriously skin-crawling material.
It's also worth pointing out that Dylan Minnette is starting to build a fun resume in the horror genre as well. You may remember him from starring alongside Jane Levy and Stephen Lang in Fede Alvarez's unsettling Don't Breathe, but he's also only a couple years removed from Rob Letterman's surprisingly fun Goosebumps. He hasn't exactly been typecast yet, as he also notably played the lead in Netflix's drama series 13 Reasons Why, but it would be cool to see him become a serious player in the scary movies game in the years to come - particularly if he's able to continue being a part of such quality productions.
The Open House, which also co-stars Sharif Atkins and Patricia Bethune, is set to be coming your way very, very soon. Subscribers to the Netflix streaming service will be able to watch the new thriller for themselves when it arrives on January 19, 2018. Here's hoping that it winds up kicking off yet another year of features full of big frights, scares, and screams.
