''Open House'' is a 1987 American

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...

written and directed by Jag Mundhra, and co-written by

David M. Evans David Mickey Evans (born October 20, 1962) is an American film director and screenwriter. His films tend to focus on children and the challenges of childhood. A baseball fan, Evans directed and co-wrote ''The Sandlot'' (1993). Life and caree ...

, and starring Joseph Bottoms,

Adrienne Barbeau Adrienne Jo Barbeau (born June 11, 1945) is an American actress, singer and the author of three books. Barbeau came to prominence in the 1970s as Broadway's original Rizzo in the musical '' Grease'', and as Carol Traynor, the divorced daughter o ...

and Mary Stavin.

Plot

A teenage girl who was molested by her father calls David Kelley, a radio psychologist working for KDRX, and shoots herself on the air. Later, a

real estate broker A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...

shows off a house to prospective buyers, and discovers the decomposing remains of another realtor in the washroom, the fourth victim of a psychopath dubbed the "Open House Killer". Outside Grant Real Estate, which David's girlfriend Lisa runs, someone digs through the trash, and takes discarded Seller Listings. The

vagabond Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, tempor ...

goes to one of the listed houses, and murders the realtor and buyer inside with a plunger that has had razor blades attached to it. The Open House Killer (who gives his name as "Harry") then calls David at KDRX, and opines that his victims deserved their fates. After an open house, Harry breaks into the property, and electrocutes the realtor with frayed wires. As Harry continues to make rambling calls to KDRX, a detective named Arnold Shapiro is assigned to work with the station to try and track Harry down. In an attempt to protect their employees, the real estate agencies institute new safety precautions, though these do little to deter Harry, who murders another agent by hanging her. Barney Resnick, Lisa's unscrupulous business rival, visits a prospective client, a

dominatrix A dominatrix (; ) or femdom is a woman who takes the dominant role in BDSM activities. A dominatrix can be of any sexual orientation, but this does not necessarily limit the genders of her submissive partners. Dominatrices are known for inflic ...

who agrees to sell her home through his agency if he has

kinky Kinky may refer to: * Kinky (band), an electronic rock act from Monterrey, Mexico ** ''Kinky'' (Kinky album), their self-titled album * ''Kinky'' (Hoodoo Gurus album) * "Kinky", by Kesha from the album ''High Road'' * Kink (sexuality), having u ...

sex with her. Harry follows Resnick, decapitates him with an axe, and snaps the neck of the home owner. The next day, Harry abducts Lisa, who gives cryptic hints about her whereabouts when Harry calls KDRX to taunt David. David tracks Lisa and Harry to an empty house, and as the authorities swarm the building, Harry expresses disappointment over the media not being present, and rants about how corporations and the real estate industry drove him to kill, as they made it so he could never have a place he could call his own Just as Harry is about to slit Lisa's throat, he is shot and knocked through a glass door by Detective Shapiro. Despite the severity of his injuries, Harry still tries attacking, and is finally killed when Shapiro knocks him off a balcony.

Cast

* Joseph Bottoms as Doctor David Kelley *

as Lisa Grant * Mary Stavin as Katie Thatcher * Rudy Ramos as Rudy Estevez * Scott Thompson Baker as Joe Pearcy * Darwyn Swalve as Harry *

Robert Miano Robert Miano (born September 25, 1942) is an American actor. Early life Robert Miano was born in New York City and raised in the Southeast Bronx neighborhood. He is of Italian descent. At the age of fifteen Robert Miano was discovered by a tale ...

as Detective Arnold Shapiro * Page Moseley as Toby * Johnny Haymer as Paul Bernal * Leonard Lightfoot as TJ * Barry Hope as Barney Resnick * Stacey Adams as Tracy * Roxanne Baird as Allison * Tiffany Bolling as Judy Roberts * Dena Drotar as The Fan * Cathryn Hartt as Melody * Christina Gallegos as Pilar Hernandez * Lee Moore as Donald Spectre * Stephen Nemeth as Tommy * Joanne Norman as Agent #1 * Richard Parnes as Lenny * Sheila Ryan as Ellen * A. Gerald Singer as Captain Blake * Bryan Utman as Policeman * Susan Widem as Policewoman * Eddie Wong as Mr. Yoshida

Reception

Moria gave ''Open House'' a zero, and stated that while it was more ambitious than most other slashers of the time and had an intriguing antagonist, it was still "a very poor film" that was dully directed, flatly photographed, and failed to generate any real suspense. Hysteia Lives! found the film "unrelentingly tedious" and gave it a one out of five, writing "Despite a few cheesy flourishes, ''Open House'' is a snoozer of the first order".

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, 1015644_open_house 1980s slasher films 1987 films 1987 horror films American independent films American serial killer films American slasher films BDSM in films Incest in film Films about radio Films about psychiatry Films about homelessness Films directed by Jag Mundhra Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Films with screenplays by David Mickey Evans 1980s English-language films 1980s American films