"House of Screaming Glass" (2024)

by Joseph Perry and Mike Imboden

In our “The Good, the Bad, and the Verdict” film reviews, Joseph and Mike give their thoughts on a slice of cinema. For this installment, it’s House of Screaming Glass from David R. Williams and Razor Wire Alchemy.

Synopsis

Elizabeth Cadosia (Lani Call) has lived a life of isolation under the shadow of her mentally fractured mother. On the day her mother dies, Elizabeth receives an unexpected inheritance — a timeworn schoolhouse from her grandmother — whom she has never met. Within the schoolhouse, Elizabeth finds herself entwined in a tapestry of unsettling visions and harrowing nightmares.

The Good

Joseph: House of Screaming Glass boasts an eldritch tone and a 1970s drive-in vibe, delivered through a modern indie arthouse lens. David R. Williams had a vision and boy oh boy, does he deliver on it. “Is it supernatural or is it psychological decline?” mystery adds to the effectiveness. The film goes for lingering creepiness rather than sudden shocks, with some skin-crawling visuals on tap for good measure. Along with those gag inducers are some beautiful depictions of the titular abode and the items and actions within it, all captured wonderfully by cinematographer Stephen Rosenthal. Lani Call is practically the only actor on screen — not an easy task, by any means — and she delivers a riveting performance. Special Effects Makeup Artist Amanda Damon and Mask Designer Roy Knyrim turn in some chilling work, as does Visual Effects Artist Maxwell Seiler. It won’t be easy getting some of the images in House of Screaming Glass out of your mind, if that is something you try to do.

Mike: Proving that a big budget isn’t needed to make an effective movie that can get under your skin and make you feel a bit weird, director David R. Williams stretches every dollar to deliver a haunting look at a young woman’s descent into . . . well, saying too much might be a spoiler. But is it really [redacted] or is it just mental illness? While the answer might lie somewhere inbetween, there’s certainly enough information to be interpreted to come to either conclusion. Helping the question along is Lani Call’s performance of Elizabeth which seems equal parts relaxed and just nuanced enough to make her actions and reactions come across as believable as one might expect given the situation. Considering this is a one-woman show, the success of House of Screaming Glass appears to be in quite capable hands.

The Bad

Joseph: Williams paces his film very deliberately, and though it is mostly arresting in its visuals, it sometimes asks much of viewers regarding its ending, especially considering its one hour and 46 minutes running time. Cinematographer Rosenthal also edited, and though the suggestion of perhaps having cut a bit more would certainly move along the proceedings more rapidly and perhaps add to tension, that’s obviously not a concern that he and Williams had in mind. The single-character narration mostly in lieu of dialogue will likely prove divisive.

Mike: There’s slow-burn and then there’s just plain slow, the latter of which describes the glacial pace at which House of Screaming Glass unspools. Long, languid shots never truly result in any type of payoff, instead merely leading into another bit of the same. Occasionally Williams will deliver a bit of tension via these takes and when it does it tends to work rather well; however, more often than not, it’s just a tedious exercise in testing the viewer’s patience.

Ultimately, that’s the film’s biggest flaw despite the well placed intentions, and it’s a shame that more thought wasn’t put into some of the destinations that the winding roads take to arrive at.

The Verdict

Joseph: House of Screaming Glass won’t be for everybody, but for adventurous fear-fare fanatics who feel in the mood for something decidedly different in the spine-tingling department, it is absolutely worth a watch.

Mike: Despite moving at a snail’s pace in numerous shots, House of Broken Glass features a stellar performance by its solitary actress that keeps you invested in the story despite the constant urge to tune it out in favor of something a little more . . . energetic. Stick with it, though, and what you’ll get is a believable portrayal of a young woman who loses control of herself and succumbs to the real (and/or imagined) horrors that her newly acquired isolated residence subjects her to.