An orphaned teenager is taken in by a Malibu couple but discovers they aren't the caring friends they seemed to be. The Glass House has a fantastic and talented cast, full of suspense thriller moments and some good perfomances, the film's 3rd act does lack in certain areas a bit but it's still a great and well made low budget movie that is better than most thrillers in this day and age. (8/10)

I initially watched "The Glass House" when it first came out on DVD and remembered it being a solid thriller. I recently watched the film with a more critical eye and, though I now realize it isn't a "classic" in any sense of the word, I was still entertained by it.For a basic plot summary, "The Glass House" sees siblings Ruby (Leelee Sobieski) and Rhett (Trevor Morgan) Baker orphaned when their parents die in a car wreck. As such, their new custodians (friends of the family) Terry (Stellan Skarsgard) and Erin (Diane Lane) Glass take them into their Malibu mansion. Though life seems to go okay for the youngsters at first, they soon discover that living with Mr. and Mrs. Glass may not be quite as innocent as it seems."The Glass House" is a movie that probably should be directed at teenagers. The themes are quite transparent and predictable, so adult viewers will likely see right through it (not unlike the Glass house itself!). However, teenagers will be much more willing to put aside their disbelief and just "enjoy the ride". If you can do that, this movie can suck you in.I wish I could say the acting in this movie is great, because at some parts it truly is, but the characters are so stereotypical for the thriller genre that it is tough to see them as anything but. Sobieski probably shines brightest in the piece, as she combines patented teenage sex appeal with some solid acting chops. Skarsgard & Lane are great actors in their own right, but (like I said) their characters are somewhat spoiled by predictability.I saw "The Glass House" as a teen, so it made an impact on me (hence the 4-star rating). It probably is more of a 3-star flick, truth be told. Yet, show it to the right audience and it can provide some decent entertainment as a thriller.

I did like the storyline of this film. It was rather clever, but it didn't really go into too much detail. The story was from the girl's perspective (Ruby) so I only really understood that the bad guy (Terry) had money problems and wanted to use their inheritance to get himself out of the trouble. It was lacking in a lot of details.However, there were a few creepy moments and the setting itself was rather eerie. The children were put in a difficult predicament, and unfortunately nobody seemed to be listening to them, which annoyed me the most.I only really watched this as it the lead role (Ruby) is a favourite actress of mine. I really like her and she didn't disappoint in this role.I enjoyed the film, but I wouldn't watch it again.

The plot: After her parents die in a sudden car accident, a teenage girl becomes suspect her new guardians have sinister motives.This movie is obviously meant for teenagers. The girls can identify with the protagonist, while the boys can ogle the her, as she has several exploitative scenes. It's a bit of a clichéd, predictable thriller, but I doubt that teens will be very critical of it.Most of the movie is a cat-and-mouse game between the protagonist and her guardians. Throughout the movie, all the adult authority figures are shown to be useless. It's a cheesy tactic used in most teen thrillers so that the teen protagonists actually have something to do besides wait for an adult to save them. For adults, it often ends up seeming a bit forced and difficult to believe.Several of the characters are introduced and never appear again, like they were completely forgotten. It makes you wonder why they were even introduced. Most perplexing is the uncle, who I would have thought would have custody of his niece and nephew -- but, no, the parents decided to give custody to their next door neighbors! Bizarre. And, when things start to get weird with the next door neighbors, not a single person suggests living with the uncle. It's like everyone forgot that there's even any relatives still alive.If you're a kid, this movie probably works a lot better. You'll focus on the horror of losing your parents, living with creepy people that you barely know, and moving to a new city. Adults, however, will probably just be bored.