The Glass House (2001)
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After their parents die in a car accident, two siblings are placed in the care of family friends who harbor dark secrets.
The story
Teenager Ruby Baker and her little brother, Rhett, lose their parents suddenly in a car accident and are placed under the guardianship of family friends and former neighbors, Terry and Erin Glass. The siblings move into a large glass house in Malibu. While initially happy with the new home, Ruby begins to feel uncomfortable with Terry and grows suspicious of the couple's motives. As she observes their behavior and discovers inconsistencies in their stories regarding her parents' death and their own financial situation, she begins to realize that her guardians may have ulterior motives for taking her in.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After their parents die in a car accident, siblings Ruby and Rhett are placed with family friends Terry and Erin in a Malibu mansion. Ruby soon becomes suspicious of Terry's behavior and Erin's drug use. She discovers the couple is in debt and is targeting the children's $4 million trust fund. After finding evidence of their plot, Ruby tries to escape but is caught and drugged. Following a series of events including Erin's suicide and a confrontation with loan sharks, the siblings are eventually rescued by a police officer. During a final confrontation, Ruby uses a police car to strike Terry, who is killed. The siblings eventually move in with their uncle.
- First release year
- 2001
- Runtime (minutes)
- 106
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Daniel Sackheim
- Writers
- Wesley Strick · writer
- Cast and characters
- Leelee Sobieski · Ruby Baker; Diane Lane · Erin; Stellan Skarsgård · Terry; Bruce Dern · unknown
- Genres
- thriller; psychological thriller; mystery thriller
- Themes
- child abuse; substance abuse; betrayal
- Tone and mood
- suspenseful; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- orphan; sibling bond; conspiracy
- Source material / true-story basis
- Original Film
- Content notes
- violence
- Reception
- The film received generally negative reviews from critics and was described as unintentionally funny by some critics, while others found it to be 'eerily engrossing'.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 21% · scale: percentage · review count: 86; Metacritic · score: 34 · scale: 100 · review count: 17; CinemaScore · score: B · scale: A+ to F
- Production trivia
- The original cut was 180 minutes long.; The film was released on DVD in 2002.; A direct-to-video sequel was released in 2006.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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