Official Synopsis:
Angie Harmon (TV's Law & Order) and Joel Gretsch (The Legend of Bagger Vance) star in this chilling suspense thriller. After losing their mother and father in a tragic accident, teenage Abby Snow and her younger brother Ethan find a new home with Eve (Harmon) and Raymond Goode (Gretsch). Moving into their adoptive parents' remote mansion, however, the siblings come to the shocking realization that the Goodes are not exactly what they seem, and the Snows' dream of love and security turns into a living nightmare of cruelty, hate and terror.
Our Take:
If ever there was a movie that didn't need a sequel, it was The Glass House, 2002's anemic "thriller" that was light on thrills and heavy on Leelee Sobieski being annoying. However, since the new sequel, Glass House: The Good Mother stars Joel Gretsch, the criminally overlooked lead actor on The 4400 and a personal favorite of mine, I decided to check it out.
The result is a surprisingly decent suspense flick. With the addition of Gretsch (who is fantastic as always) and Angie Harmon (in a particularly nasty role), the film also benefits from better character motivations and less of Leelee Sobieski. There's a bit of mystery this time around as to why certain things are happening, and the characters may not be the most developed in the world, but at least most of their actions make sense. Also, the younger brother in this film is an actual character, not just an afterthought like the kid brother in the original flick was.
The DVD comes with just a few extra features, including:
* Deleted Scenes (6 minutes) - A few scenes that were cut from the film. There's nothing too exciting here.
* Commentary - Director Steven Antin, producer Billy Pollina, and editor Joan Sobel talk about the making of the film. This isn't as dry as a lot of these tracks can be, and the trio shares a lot of interesting information.
This isn't an essential film by any means, but it has a few good thrills in it and actually captured my attention more than I expected it to. If you're already interested in seeing this one anyway, you'll find it a painless way to kill 90 minutes.
Overall Picture:
Movie: B-
DVD: C+
- Mike Spring
Editor
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