If ever there was an argument for not providing “open houses” when trying to sell your residence, Open House provides it. A taut, minimalist horror film that winds and bends its way further and further into insanity, the pic becomes a portrait of David (Brian Geraghty) and Lila (Tricia Helfer), two psychopathic killers who move into and take over the home of Alice (Rachel Blanchard), who, unbeknownst to Lila, David is keeping locked in the crawlspace, alive. As David and Lila match wits with one another over whether or not David will flee their destructive relationship, and Alice does everything she can to escape, the film spirals towards a shocking climax. 

On hand afterwards to discuss the film at its World Premiere at the Chelsea Clearview Cinemas Saturday night were writer/director Andrew Paquin (yep, Anna Paquin's brother; she and Stephen Moyer both have a small role in the film), Geraghty, Blanchard, and Helfer, as well as various producers of the film.
 
“The idea for the film came from a few places,” Paquin explained. “I wanted to make a film set in a single location. It was actually my house, the house in the movie. We totally destroyed my house. It’s easier to build suspense in one place, I think. I wanted to start with a traditional horror structure, and then peel back the layers. And hopefully, I was able to create some sympathy for the monsters, these serial killers.”
One question was directed to the actors: how did you get into the mindset of your characters? 

“Well, I killed a few people,” Geraghty deadpanned. “There was some research done, on the Internet. He’s a sociopathic character who has feelings, and I thought that was an interesting thing.” 

“It wasn’t very difficult for me,” Blanchard explained. “When you’re actually bound and gagged, you have a pretty strong visceral reaction. There was one scene we shot—which ended up getting cut—where I was put into the trunk of a car, and I almost passed out.” 

Responding to an inquiry about his cinematic influences, Paquin ventured, “definitely Alfred Hitchcock. He was pretty good. A lot of his films take place in one location. But I also was inspired by dysfunctional domestic films—like American Beauty.”

Find out when and where you can catch Open House at the Tribeca Film Festival!

Faces of the Festival: Andrew Paquin

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