''Christina's House'' is a 2000 Canadian independent horror-thriller film directed by Gavin Wilding, and starring Allison Lange,

Brendan Fehr Brendan Jacob Joel Fehr (born October 29, 1977) is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for portraying Michael Guerin in the WB television series '' Roswell'', and for portraying lab tech Dan Cooper in ''CSI: Miami''. In 20 ...

, Brad Rowe, and John Savage. Its plot follows a teenaged girl who experiences bizarre occurrences in her new home. The film was executive produced by

Mark Victor Mark Victor is a screenwriter. He co-wrote '' Poltergeist'' (1982), '' Poltergeist II: The Other Side'' (1986), ''Marked for Death'' (1990), and ''Cool World ''Cool World'' is a 1992 American live-action/animated black comedy fantasy film d ...

and

Michael Grais Michael Grais is an American screenwriter, best known as the co-writer of ''Poltergeist (1982 film), Poltergeist'' (1982). He has also produced such movies as ''Great Balls of Fire! (film), Great Balls of Fire!'' (1989, executive producer), ''M ...

, the screenwriters of ''

Poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional descr ...

'' (1982).

Plot

Christina Tarling is a teenager, who moved from

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

to a small town in Avendon,

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

with her father, James and younger brother Bobby to be closer to Joanne, Christina's mother who due to her mental state, was placed into a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

in Avedon. Christina is shown to be a popular student and due to his work commitments, James is most of the time out of the house, giving Christina the opportunity to spend time with her boyfriend Eddy, who James is not fond of. Over the few days that follow, Christina begins to notice bizarre occurrences happening related to her home, particularly the

attic An attic (sometimes referred to as a '' loft'') is a space found directly below the pitched roof of a house or other building; an attic may also be called a ''sky parlor'' or a garret. Because attics fill the space between the ceiling of the ...

to which their

Handyman A handyman, also known as a fixer, handyperson or handyworker, is a person skilled at a wide range of repairs, typically around the home. These tasks include trade skills, repair work, maintenance work, are both interior and exterior, and are so ...

, Howie is constantly inspecting and repairing the faults in the house. Sheriff Mark Sklar is investigating and searching for a missing girl, he then questions Christina, Bobby, and Christina's friend Karen about the girl. Michelle, a classmate of Christina and Eddy's ex-girlfriend, who dislikes Christina, is sent a note allegedly by Eddy that he broke up with Christina and to meet him at outside Christina's house. Outside of Christina's house, Michelle hears a male voice coming from the woods claiming to be Eddy but is unseen. Michelle is then pulled into the darkness by the unseen person. Days after, Christina, Karen, and Bobby discover Michelle's

decomposing Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is e ...

and

dismembered Dismemberment is the act of cutting, ripping, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise disconnecting the limbs from a living or dead being. It has been practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, especially in connection with ...

body in a

river A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...

outside the house. Eddy begins to grow jealousy towards Howie and his bond with Christina which leads Eddy to physically

assaulting An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...

him. On her 17th birthday, James plans a surprise party with Eddy and all her friends in attendance. During the party Eddy and Christina sneak away into the attic and try to get intimate but not before James catches them. After an argument between James and Christina, James notices a gift, away from all the others, he opens it only to find a dead

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

caught on a

mousetrap A mousetrap is a specialized type of animal trap designed primarily to catch and, usually, kill mice. Mousetraps are usually set in an indoor location where there is a suspected infestation of rodents. Larger traps are designed to catch other s ...

in. Startled, James leaves the party. Karen, upstairs, hears noises coming from the attic and goes to investigate and is then dragged away by an unseen man. After visiting her mother, Christina begins to suspect that James might have had something to do with her mother's condition to which he denies. Christina begins to hear noises around the house including finding a

Boombox A boombox is a transistorized portable music player featuring one or two cassette tape recorder/players and AM/FM radio, generally with a carrying handle. Beginning in the mid 1980s, a CD player was often included. Sound is delivered through ...

playing. Christina tries to exit the house with Bobby but realizes they are trapped inside. Eddy arrives at the house and soon after tries to break the windows but fails. Howie emerges from the attic and reveals he's the one behind all the occurrences under Joanne's orders of "protecting" Christina who he met at the psychiatric hospital when he was a patient. Howie then proceeds to kill Eddy, then giving chase to Christina. James arrives at the house but falls into a modified trap rigged with

circular saw A circular saw is a power-saw using a toothed or abrasive disc or blade to cut different materials using a rotary motion spinning around an arbor. A hole saw and ring saw also use a rotary motion but are different from a circular saw. ''Cir ...

blades, severely wounding him. Howie catches Christina and takes her to the attic where he has the bodies of Karen and the missing girl the sheriff is searching for. James, having escaped the trap, intervenes but is stabbed by Howie. Christina and Bobby set the same trap used on James, then lure Howie out causing him to fall into the trap. Christina then pushes a dresser into the trap, crushing Howie to death. James, having survived, is now in the hospital recovering with Christina and Bobby by his side. After a brief conversation with sheriff Sklar, Christina and Bobby decide to walk home. At psychiatric hospital, a newly released patient notice Joanne sitting in a distance. Joanne starts chanting, using the same method she had used on Howie to control him, she then smiles at him as he leaves the building. Later that evening the lights in the attic at Christina's house turn on, indicating the man has assumed Howie's former role.

Cast

*Allison Lange as Christina Tarling *

as Eddy Duncan * Brad Rowe as Howie Rhodes * John Savage as James Tarling *Lorne Stewart as Bobby Tarling *Crystal Bublé as Karen *Jerry Wasserman as Sheriff Mark Sklar *Chilton Crane as Joanne Tarling *Sigrid M. Spade as Michelle

References

External links

* * 2000 horror films Canadian horror thriller films 2000s English-language films 2000s Canadian films {{2000s-horror-film-stub