House at the End of the Street

In addition to the following DVDs, Dredd 3D is also available this week.

Frankenweenie

Director Tim Burton makes a triumphant return to animation with Frankenweenie, the story of a young boy and his beloved pet — with a twist. Victor loves Sparky more than anything, and when Sparky passes away, budding scientist Victor miraculously brings a strangely altered version of the pup back to life, much to the horrified surprise of Victor's relatives and peers. The heartwarming tale is perfect for Burton-loving parents to share with their kids. The DVD copy incudes a music video and a Frankenweenie touring exhibit.

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House at the End of the Street

Jennifer Lawrence headlines House at the End of the Street, a jumpy but underwhelming horror-thriller. Elissa (Lawrence) has just moved to a new town with her mother, Sarah (Elisabeth Shue). The two share a rocky relationship, and when her mother expresses concern over Elissa's getting close with the boy next door (Max Thieriot), it only draws Elissa closer to him. Sarah has reason to be suspicious: the boy's parents were murdered in cold blood by his sister. The film has some great twists, but it's bogged down by a slow start and a lame main character. The DVD comes with an unrated version.

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Get one more new release after the jump.

Hotel Transylvania took a bite out of competition in its opening weekend. The animated family film earned $43 million and the no. 1 spot at the box office. Fellow new release Looper claimed second place with $21.2 million, while last week's top earner End of Watch took in $8 million. Trouble With the Curve and House at the End of the Street each made $7.5 million and $7.2 million, respectively, rounding out the top five. Pitch Perfect was also released this weekend to a $5.2 million haul.

Jake Gyllenhaal's LA cop drama ,End of Watch, and horror flick House at the End of the Street tied for the No. 1 spot at the box office this weekend, each earning an estimated $13 million in their opening weekends. Fellow new release Trouble With the Curve placed a close third with $12.7 million, followed by Finding Nemo, which took in $9.4 million in its 3D release. Last week's number one, Resident Evil: Retribution, fell to fifth place with $6.7 million. As for other new releases, Dredd 3D took sixth place with $6.3 million and The Perks of Being a Wallflower had a small, four-theater opening, but pulled in a healthy $244,000.

If you're looking to get into the Halloween spirit without subjecting yourself to the gross-out style popularized by franchises like Saw, you might want to consider House at the End of the Street. In the old-school horror film, Jennifer Lawrence stars as Elissa, a curious teen with a penchant for bad boys. Naturally, when Elissa moves to a new town, the target of her affections is Ryan (Max Thieriot), who lives a stone's throw away in the house where his sister butchered their parents. The two meet and sparks fly, but Elissa's mom (Elisabeth Shue) isn't too happy about the romance. She, and virtually the whole town, suspects Ryan is hiding something. Spoiler alert: they're right! But before you write off House at the End of the Street as just another cheap thrill, read up on why I think it might deserve a second thought.

• Jennifer Lawrence is in it. The image I have of Jennifer Lawrence in my head includes a bow and arrow and some battle gear. Here, she hasn't quite made it out of the woods (literally; her house is in the middle of a forest), but she's playing a normal teenager. It's oddly refreshing to see her in jeans and a tank top.
• But . . . Her character is kind of lame. Normal teenager? Boring. Elissa essentially has the same gripes as Katniss Everdeen (teen angst, bad relationship with her mom), but instead of releasing anger by kicking ass in an arena, she just lies to her mom about where she is and sneaks around with creepy neighbor boy. Plus, her incessant need to nose around other people's property had the whole theater screaming "Don't go in there, girl!"
• The twists are great. One of the hallmarks of a memorable horror movie is that all is not what it seems. I thought I knew what was going on halfway through House at the End of the Street, but I was wrong. I like being scared, but I like being surprised even more, and this movie did that pretty well.
• But . . . It takes a while to get going. The movie opens with the intense murder scene, but then it's just character development for a while.
• It's a fun Halloween or date-night movie. If you like being on the edge of your seat or are looking for a reason to huddle next to a hot date, this is a good option.
• But . . . It's not exactly a thinker. There aren't a ton of layers here. It's a scary movie. There's no underlying big-picture message about intolerance or ignorance or anything. Don't look for the metaphor; there isn't one.

Photo courtesy of Relativity Media

Jennifer Lawrence just hit the big screen as Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games, but the actress is changing gears to horror for House at the End of the Street. In the trailer for the gritty thriller, Lawrence's character Elissa and her mother (Elisabeth Shue, who recently honed her horror skills in Piranha 3-D) are trying to get a fresh start, but end up moving next to a house where a gruesome double murder occurred. Against her better judgment, Elissa forms a relationship with the boy who lives there, the sole survivor of the tragedy. His sister murdered their parents, and legend has it that she still roams the woods behind the house.

We like the way the clip plays in reverse; it's not a technique usually used throughout an entire trailer, but the story itself seems like pretty standard horror. We're so used to seeing Lawrence in badass mode that it feels odd to see her cowering under a table (not to say we wouldn't be crying under a table too if we were being hunted by a homicidal chick). We're hoping there are some twists or unexpected elements to break up the seemingly generic horror plot, but we'll have to wait a while. The movie doesn't come out until Oct. 25 (just in time for Halloween!) so until then, you can watch the trailer after the jump.