The Silent House (1929) Review: Lots of staring and secret doors

If you are looking for something to watch tonight and you have a soft spot for dusty old mysteries, you might actually like this one. It is perfect for a rainy night when you want to feel like you are in a haunted library.

But if you hate slow pacing or those old-fashioned 'Yellow Peril' stereotypes that were way too common back then, you should probably skip it. You would have more fun with something like The Flyin' Cowboy if you want more energy.

The whole plot of The Silent House revolves around Dr. Chan Fu. He is this 'Mandarin' character who is basically a walking collection of every cliché from the 1920s.

Gibb McLaughlin plays him with so much intensity that it almost becomes funny. He has these incredibly long fingernails that look like they would make it impossible to do normal things, like eat a sandwich or tie his shoes.

He wants these hidden bonds, which is basically just a fancy word for money. To get them, he decides the best plan is to hypnotize T’Mala, played by Mabel Poulton.

Mabel Poulton is interesting to watch because she has these huge eyes. Even when she isn't being hypnotized, she looks like she just saw a ghost.

There is a scene early on where she is just sitting there, and the camera lingers on her face for a really long time. It feels like the director forgot to yell 'cut' and she just kept acting harder and harder.

The hypnosis scenes are the most 'movie' parts of the movie. You get these close-ups of eyes and people moving in slow motion like they are walking through pudding.

It is not exactly terrifying by today's standards. It is more like watching someone try to remember a phone number while they are very sleepy.

I noticed that the sets feel strangely small. Like, every time someone opens a door, you expect them to accidentally knock over a wall.

It gives the whole thing a claustrophobic feeling that actually works in its favor. It makes the house feel like a trap, which I guess is the point since the title is literally The Silent House.

There is this one guy, Rex Maurice, who plays the hero, but he is kind of... well, he's just there. He doesn't have the screen presence of someone in Cleopatra or even the weird charm of the actors in The Woman and the Beast.

He spends a lot of time looking through keyholes and looking concerned. He wears his suit well, though, I'll give him that.

The middle part of the movie drags a bit because it's just people moving from one room to another. It reminded me a little of the pacing in The Little Intruder, where you keep waiting for the 'big' thing to happen.

Wait, I forgot to mention the secret passages. There are so many hidden doors in this house that it’s a wonder anyone can find the bathroom.

One character walks into a room, turns a candlestick, and suddenly the wall is moving. It’s very Scooby-Doo but forty years earlier.

I did like the lighting in the basement scenes. It was very dark and moody, with these long shadows that made the actors look like they were drowning in ink.

It’s a very visual experience, even for a silent film. You don't really need the intertitles to know what is going on because everyone is gesturing wildly at everything.

Is it a masterpiece? No, not really. It feels like a stage play that someone decided to film on a weekend.

But there is a certain charm to it. It’s like finding an old, stained mystery novel in the back of a thrift store.

You know it’s not 'great' literature, but you still want to see how it ends. You want to see if the doctor gets his bonds or if the girl finally wakes up from her trance.

The ending is a bit rushed, to be honest. It’s like they realized they were running out of film and had to wrap everything up in five minutes.

Suddenly there is a struggle, some smoke, and... well, I won't spoil it, but it’s very dramatic. Everyone looks very tired by the time the final 'The End' card pops up.

If you've seen things like King, Queen and Joker, you might find this a bit too serious. It doesn't have that sense of fun.

It takes itself very seriously, which is probably why it feels so creaky now. But that's part of the fun of watching stuff from 1929.

You’re seeing a world that was just about to change forever with the arrival of sound. You can almost feel the movie trying to be 'loud' without having any audio.

Anyway, it’s worth a look if you’re a completionist or if you just like seeing how people used to try and scare each other back in the day. It’s better than Vater Radetzky, at least in terms of keeping your attention.

Just don’t expect it to change your life. It’s just a weird little movie about a guy with long nails and a girl who can't stop staring.