Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on November 2012

It’s a sad week for Tokyo moviegoers when this anemic horror-suspense yarn is the best of the batch. But since the other two are just violent action retreads from hack actors, waddaya gonna do? In this incompetent rip-off of perhaps the most famous horror movie of all time, a teenage girl and her single mom move from Chicago into a suburban neighborhood. Four years earlier, a family’s young daughter murdered her parents in the house next door. The reclusive older son, who was away at the time, now inhabits the place, bravely coping with the town’s fear and distrust. The new girl ignores her mom’s warnings and sets about befriending the poor guy. The murderous daughter fled to the woods and reportedly died. Or maybe that’s who her brother is keeping locked up in the basement. Or not. Characters make predictably moronic choices, the ridiculous twists are obvious, and the results unsurprising. But there’s a bright spot that gives this house a foundation, though it may be harder to explain than any of the film’s intended mysteries: It stars the luminous Jennifer Lawrence (Winter’s Bone, The Hunger Games), who singlehandedly elevates it to the mostly watchable category.