Domestic tensions turn intimately sinister in this pulpy potboiler, which develops a steely sense of menace. The trouble begins when Mr. and Mrs. Glass (Stellan Skarsgård, Diane Lane) are appointed legal guardianship of 16-year-old Ruby (Leelee Sobieski) and her 11-year-old brother (Trevor Morgan) after their parents are killed in a car accident. As trusted former neighbors, the Glasses welcome the orphans into their luxurious Malibu home, but the all-glass structure turns into a gilded cage when Mr. Glass's motivations are revealed to be anything but friendly. With plot-thickening roles for Bruce Dern and Kathy Baker, the film builds considerable suspense before tailspinning into absurdity, and veteran TV director Daniel Sackheim takes full advantage of his prismatic setting and Sobieski's burgeoning sex appeal. The rickety script by Wesley Strick (echoing his rehash of Cape Fear) eventually veers toward self-parody, at which point The Glass House qualifies as a high-gloss slasher pic. --Jeff Shannon
(24 votes)
2.
THE GLASS HOUSE, director Daniel Sackheim's sleek neo-noir thriller, is a modern Hansel and Gretel story with elements borrowed from HAMLET, set in California. As it opens, Ruby (Leelee Sobieski) watches unflinchingly while her friends cover their eyes from the horrors of a slasher movie. She deals with her over-concerned parents with cool resourcefulness. But, then her parents die in a car crash. Ruby learns from the family lawyer (Bruce Dern) that she and her younger brother Rhett (Trevor Morgan) will be well provided for, and will live with their sympathetic ex-neighbors Terry and Erin Glass (Stellan Skarsgård and Diane Lane).
Terry and Erin's new home is a modern mansion--all steel and glass--built on the cliffs of Malibu. But, all is not well beneath the cool surfaces of THE GLASS HOUSE. Ruby has to decide whether it is her imagination, or is she being watched as she undresses; and whether Terry is making a pass at her, or just fastening her seat belt; and whether Erin is shooting up drugs, or simply taking insulin to combat her diabetes; and whether Terry is really being menaced by well-dressed thugs. Leelee Sobieski plays Ruby with steely resolve as she tries to deal with the mysteries of THE GLASS HOUSE.
(20 votes)
3.
When Ruby (Leelee Sobieski) and her younger brother Rhett's (Trevor Morgan) parents, Grace and Dave Baker, are killed in a car crash, their parents' best friends, Bin and Terry Glass (Diane Lane and Stellan Skarsgard), become their guardians. The Glasses promise Ruby and Rhctt a candy-coated world of opulence and California fun-in- the-sun to help them forget the nightmare they've just experienced. All they have to do is move into the Glasses' gated house in picturesque Malibu via stretch limousine.
The Glasses seem to be more than considerate of their needs; there are some trendy new clothes for Ruby and two new videogame systems and a TV for Rhett. So what if it's just a bit strange that sister and brother have to share the same bedroom in such a big house. Bin and Terry have told them it's only temporary. And the estate lawyer (Bruce Dem) for their parents has informed them that there's plenty of money to take care of their future, to the tune of $4 million.
It seems there's nothing to be afraid of—until Ruby begins to suspect that Erin and Terry may not be the ideal guardians they seem. But are her suspicions justified or merely the perceptions of a rebellious teen with a fertile imagination? Unless she's absolutely sure, Ruby shouldn't throw any stones... for what you don't see in the Glass house can kill you.
(20 votes)
4.
When Ruby and her younger brother Rhett's parents are killed in a car crash, their parents' best friends, Erin and Terry Glass become their guardians. Soon, Ruby suspects that Erin and Terry may not be the ideal guardians they seem to be. Are her suspicions justified or merely the misperceptions of a rebellious teen with a fertile imagination?
(20 votes)
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