Open House is the directorial debut of Andrew Paquin - brother of Anna who is given a minor role alongside her husband Stephen Moyer – who also penned this unconvincing home invasion thriller.

Alice (Rachel Blanchard) lives alone after separating from her partner Josh (Stephen Moyer) and has put her house up for sale. As the Estate Agent locks up for the day there is someone who hasn’t quite left the premises. From then on there are no more viewings to be had in the Open House as siblings David and Lila unlawfully move in and immediately set about killing anyone they come into contact with. 

Alice is the exception, who is held captive in the basement by David (Brian Geraghty) as an act of defiance against sadistic seductress Lila (Tricia Helfer) who thinks Alice is already dead. He has taken a shine to Alice and tells her “If she finds out you’re alive, you’ll die”. Geraghty gives a passable performance as the obedient, slow-witted accomplice, sinister in his mechanized actions and lack of free will.

The killings are random, for no apparent reason and with no consequences. The why is never explored and the result is a far-fetched and aimless film with too many loose ends. All we know about the brother and sister is that they move from place to place when things get too hot. The dialogue is as flat as a pancake and with no back story the two main characters slip into their assigned stereotypes.

David has an underlying resentment of Lila’s hold over him and tries to escape with Alice before chickening out. The film’s premise is interesting and the potential for a terrifying story is there, but any tension is killed off by a pace so slow that the real danger lies in Alice dying of old age in the basement. It lacks the menace and volatility of Michael Haneke’s Funny Games and as home invasion movies go, disappoints on many fronts.