The House on Pine Street - Film Review - E3W Productions

"The House on Pine Street"

Trapped. In the middle of Nowhereville, KS stuck with a pending kid, an overbearing mother and a dismissive husband. Yeah. Jenny must be crazy.  “The House on Pine Street” is the American dream. Someone else’s American dream and Jenny, our protagonist and mother-to-be is over it from the moment she steps foot in the funky old house mom lined up. Oh, and did we mention that just may be haunted? Either that, or Jen is out of her mind and out to kill her kid.

“It’s the house. It’s in my head. It wants you to think I’m crazy.”  

“The House on Pine Street” is a contribution into the supernatural horror sub-genre posing at times as a psychological thriller. You may get the feeling you’ve heard this story before. You know these characters. You may even think you know how it will all turn out. Maybe you do…

From “Ghost Adventures” to “Paranormal Activity” to “Poltergeist” you’ll see common themes and elements popping up in “House on Pine Street.” Unfortunately the characters just don’t draw you in or make you care as much as the aforementioned. Suspense was somewhat lacking and overall the film has an anticlimactic tendency, even though the premise lends itself to so much more.

The viewing experience could have been powerful if one actually had empathy for, or was truly emotionally invested in this couple undergoing the phenomenal stress of moving, a new job, a new child and a certain situation that happened back in Chicago. Instead you sit and view passively a vanilla lack of complexity. It was similar in feel to a television sit-com, and possibly could have been rectified with a bit more effective editing.

Having said that, it wasn’t a bad film in the least. It’s certainly a popcorn flick, but there is no overt CGI and the stunts are actually pretty terrific. Kealani Tosh is Emily Goss’ (pregnant Jennifer’s) stunt double and the last half of the film proves she is the real star. I had to rewind a couple of times to watch that part again. Give it a go. You’ll know the part.

Cinematography is artistically elegant with soft yellows and beautiful blues. There is certainly a comfortable small town cozy feel conveyed through the lens, lighting and hues. Sound was exceptional. You could see that much time and attention was spent on the mechanics of the scenes. So much potential… It’s frustrating how exceptional this film could have been. 

Despite my criticism, this film is cleaning up on the festival circuit landing multiple awards. Eight to be exact; three for best actress received by lead, Emily Goss. The future is bright for this supernatural indie bit of goodness, so get your popcorn ready and dig in.

Rating 3/5

For more information on “The House on Pine Street” follow the film on Facebook or the official film site.