The Glass House (2001)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Daniel Sackheim

Writer (WGA):

Wesley Strick (written by)

Release Date:

14 September 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Thriller

Tagline:

It's time to kick some Glass.

Plot:

An orphaned teenager is taken in by a Malibu couple but discovers they aren't the caring friends they seemed to be.

Plot Keywords:

Car Accident | Car | Video Game | Lawyer | Trust Fund

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Leelee Sobieski	...	Ruby Baker
Diane Lane	...	Erin Glass
Stellan Skarsgård	...	Terrence 'Terry' Glass
Bruce Dern	...	Begleiter
Kathy Baker	...	Nancy Ryan
Trevor Morgan	...	Rhett Baker
Chris Noth	...	Uncle Jack
Michael O'Keefe	...	Dave Baker
Vyto Ruginis	...	Don
Gavin O'Connor	...	Whitey
Carly Pope	...	Tasha
China Shavers	...	E.B. (as China Jesusita Shavers)
Agnes Bruckner	...	Zoe
Michael Paul Chan	...	Mr. Kim
Rachel Wilson	...	Hannah

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for sinister thematic elements, violence, drug content and language.

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37273) | Malaysia:18PL | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Finland:K-15 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | France:-12 | Germany:16 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Leo Carrillo State Beach - 35000 W. Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu, California, USA

Company:

Columbia Pictures Corporation

Trivia:

The original cut ran for almost three hours.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Ruby is smoking in the car with her friends she is in the rear passenger-side seat. When the car pulls up to drop her off she gets out of the driver's-side rear seat.

Quotes:

Dr. Erin Madre-Glass: We need your trust, Ruby.

Movie Connections:

References "Dragon Ball Z" (1989/I)

Soundtrack:

Sunken Bells

Come out, come out, wherever you are. (spoilers)

You might initially be reluctant to give 'The Glass House' a try if you've been turned off by many recent "thrillers" as they often have been disappointingly by the book. This is your eerie psychotic chase thriller similar to movies like 'Pacific Heights' and 'Unlawful Entry.' And, though it does play by the rules (unforutnately), there is something about it that makes it more entertaining than the recent dismal fare (not that Pacific Heights wasn't highly entertaining).

Leelee Sobieski plays Ruby Baker, a kid going through the terrible teens. When she and her brother's parents die in a car accident, they move in with ultra-modern family friends, Terry and Erin Glass. You know right from the start that there is something dreadfully suspicious and exceedingly bizarre about the Glass couple, but you can never be too sure exactly what at first (that's the purpose of a thriller, to throw you a few hints and let your quick assumptions guide you into all the wrong paths so that you're--hopefully--pleasantly surprised when the real perpetrator and his motives are revealed). But, Ruby Baker is a smart kid who's ever-present skepticism about the intentions of her new surrogate parents, and starts trying to figure out what's wrong. Unfortunately, this movie does terribly follow the book when it comes to the main character being disbelieved by other well-meaning characters (social workers, lawyers, teachers, etc.) who consequently pay with their lives for their doubts and unwillingness to really investigate, and in turn, making things worse for poor Ruby. It also follows the book when it comes to the deranged finale and the he's-not-really dead ending.

But, there is something that makes this better than most of its kind. On the one hand, you're never sure whether you can always trust Ruby because even she, too, arrogant most of the time, seems like trouble. It's hard to sympathize for a character like that at first. And, not only does Stellan Skarsgård make an appropriate villain as Terry Glass, his wife (played by Diane Lane) is not entirely an innocent creature herself as most women are often written to be in the role of the creep's wife/girlfriend/mother, etc. A good mix of characters and a creepy setting, combined with a decent finale, make it just the perfect mix of suspenseful elements. And one that I would recommend seeing.