Girl House

Directed by Trevor Matthews
Produced by
  • Trevor Matthews
  • Nick Gordon
  • Cory Neal
Written by Nick Gordon
Starring
Music by tomandandy
Cinematography Christopher Norr
Edited by Matthew Brulotte
Production
company
Distributed by Entertainment One
Release dates
  • 2014
Running time
 100 minutes
Country Canada
Language English

Girl House is a 2014 Canadian slasher film directed by Trevor Matthews and written by Nick Gordon. It stars Ali Cobrin and Slaine as a woman in an X-rated reality web series and the psychopath who stalks her, respectively.

Plot

Kylie Atkins, a college student in need of money, joins an X-rated reality web series produced by Gary Preston. Though Preston assures her that the website and house are safe, she comes under attack by a deranged fan known by Loverboy, his Internet username.

Cast

Production

Director-producer Matthews came up with the idea while attempting to find a distributor for The Shrine. After realizing that he had not seen themes of pornography and privacy explored in a slasher film, he recruited Gordon to write the script. The story was always important to Mathews, and he said that he was very enthused with the project when he read Gordon's script.[1] Though it was his first film, Matthews said that his experiences with previous productions had been collaborative enough that it seemed like a natural step for him.[2] Jon Knautz initially co-directed the film, but Knautz got an offer to direct another project. Matthews encouraged him to take the opportunity and finished directing the film himself.[3] Matthews was influenced by Halloween and used that film's structure as a guide. He said that the film serves as a cautionary tale about over-sharing on social media.[4] Slaine said that the mask he wore was very uncomfortable, and it could only be put on or taken off with help. As a result, the mask had to stay on for extended periods during shooting. Slaine attempted to channel events from his own life into his performance to heighten the emotional impact and make his character more sympathetic. Cobrin said that she experienced some trepidation about her role, but her fondness for slasher films made it easier.[5] Shooting took place in Kanata, Ontario.[6]

Release

Girl House played at the Ottawa International Film Festival on October 16, 2014.[6] Lakeshore Records released the soundtrack by tomandandy on February 10, 2015,[7] and Entertainment One released the film to video on demand on February 13, 2015.[8]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 67% of nine surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 5.3/10.[9] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Director Trevor Matthews stages the violent mayhem with admirable profiency, and the film's target audience is bound to come away reasonably satisfied, if not fully satiated."[10] Maitland McDonagh of Film Journal International wrote, "College girls earning some extra cash working for a porn site are targeted by a psycho killer in this formulaic but slickly executed thriller that should entertain undemanding genre buffs."[11] Michael Gingold of Fangoria rated it 2/4 stars and wrote of the film's satiric content, "Too often, though, the moviemakers fall back on grisly, gamy sensationalism."[12] Pat Torfe of Bloody Disgusting rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "Boasting some strong acting from almost everyone involved, coupled with a scary antagonist and some genuinely brutal moments that gorehounds will love, Girl House is definitely one of the stronger slasher films I've recently seen."[13] Scott Hallam of Dread Central rated it 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "For a directorial debut, Trevor Matthews does a fantastic job. The movie is slick looking, nicely paced, and keeps the audience’s attention at all times."[14] Matt Donato of We Got This Covered rated it 3/5 stars and wrote, "Girlhouse is just another nudie horror flick at first glance, but a strong finale finishes things off with a bloody, satisfying moneyshot."[15] Brian Formo of IGN rated it 7/10 stars and wrote, "It's an imperfect debut, but it shows promise."[16]

References

  1. ↑ Smith, Jerry (2015-02-18). "Icons of Fright Interview With GIRL HOUSE Director Trevor Matthews". Icons of Fright. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  2. ↑ 2015-02-13. "Interview With Director Trevor Matthews (Girl House)". Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  3. ↑ Hallam, Scott (2015-03-02). "Exclusive – Trevor Matthews Gives Us a Tour of Girl House". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  4. ↑ Zimmerman, Samuel (March 4, 2015). "Q&A: Director Trevor Matthews on Cam Girl Slasher, Girl House". Shock Till You Drop. Retrieved April 13, 2015.
  5. ↑ Hallam, Scott (2015-02-24). "Exclusive: Ali Cobrin and Slaine Talk About Living in the Girl House". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Langston, Patrick (2014-10-09). "Ottawa film fest makes it five". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  7. ↑ Moore, Debi (2015-02-10). "Girl House Soundtrack by tomandandy Available TODAY!". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  8. ↑ Squires, John (2015-02-13). "Today on VOD: Crazy Bitches, Girl House and Wyrmwood". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  9. ↑ "Girl House (2015)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  10. ↑ Scheck, Frank (2015-02-13). "'Girl House': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  11. ↑ McDonagh, Maitland (2015-02-12). "Film Review: Girl House". Film Journal International. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  12. ↑ Gingold, Michael (2015-02-19). ""GIRL HOUSE" (Movie Review)". Fangoria. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  13. ↑ Torfe, Pat (2015-02-24). "[Review] Strong Acting and Meaningful Characters Room in 'Girl House'". Bloody Disgusting.
  14. ↑ Hallam, Scott (2015-02-17). "Girl House (2015)". Dread Central. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  15. ↑ Donato, Matt (2015-02-13). "Girlhouse Review". We Got This Covered. Retrieved 2015-04-13.
  16. ↑ Formo, Brian (2015-02-13). "First dance, bro.". IGN. Retrieved 2015-04-13.

External links