Common Sense Media Review
By Jennifer Green
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Teen slasher has a lot of blood, language, drugs, and sex.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
There's Someone Inside Your House
What's the Story?
When a high school football player is stabbed to death by someone hiding in a closet in his home at the start of THERE'S SOMEONE INSIDE YOUR HOUSE, it's the beginning of a killing spree that affects a small Midwestern town. The killer knew secrets about his victim, and as he continues killing teenagers, he also reveals their secrets to classmates via text message. This worries friends Makani (Sydney Park), Alex (Asjha Cooper), Darby (Jess LaTourette), Ollie (Theodore Pellerin), Rodrigo (Diego Josef), Zach (Dale Whibley), and Caleb (Burkely Duffield), who all have something to hide.
Is It Any Good?
Trying too hard to capture what it means to be a teen today, this film is neither insightful nor genuine, but it's sufficiently scary. The Midwestern small town of There's Someone Inside Your House, dotted with decrepit farmhouses, secret Nazis, and creepy corn mazes, is the perfect setting for scares. The film spares no effort in staging viciously cruel, exceptionally bloody murders. The fact that each victim is killed in a way individual to their own deepest-held secrets, which are then revealed by text message to the entire high school body, could be a teen's worst nightmare.
But that's about all the film gets right about teenagers. Its reliance on unsubtle stereotypes and cliquish animosities underestimates young people today. Only one or two characters have backstories that warrant minimal exploration; everyone else is drafted in surprisingly broad strokes. A late-script monologue tries to infuse the murderer's donning of masks with deeper significance, but it's too little too late, and the comparisons to Michael Myers won't be flattering. The bright spot in the whole affair is the cast, particularly lead Sydney Park. Give these young actors a better showcase.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how There's Someone Inside Your House crafts scares. What's involved in creating situations and scenes that frighten a viewer, and which scenes did you think were the scariest in this movie?
Did this film offer a realistic portrayal of teenagers today? Why or why not?
Does this film borrow ideas from other horror movies you've watched? If so, which?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : October 6, 2021
- Cast : Sydney Park , Theorore Pellerin , Asjha Cooper
- Director : Patrick Brice
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Asian Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Horror
- Topics : Friendship , School ( High School )
- Run time : 96 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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