For example you are forced to take a house you don't want and is worth a bomb but decide to move in whilst it is being finished, why? And when you start getting freaked out and convinced you are being stalked and have an intruder why the heck do you stay? There is simply too much illogical stuff going on in "House of Secrets" for it to work let alone the hilarious discovery of video cameras hidden in the loft but the cameras she finds are wireless. As such right from the word go it is hard to warm to Julie not because she looks like a student but because despite the flashbacks to abuse she isn't a very sensible person. The more pertinent question is do we care? Unfortunately we don't because "House of Secrets" is one of those movies which doesn't care about establishing characters or building in logic in to the story. But her uncomfortable ness in the house turns out to be well founded as it appears someone is letting themselves in and out of the house whilst also spying on her with hidden cameras. Reluctantly moving in she literally runs into and hires Tyler ( Brendan Fehr - Adopting Terror), a handyman, to come in and finish the place so that she can sell it as soon as possible due to the painful memories it holds. But whilst she manages to escape Sam and her marriage, Julie finds herself with a reminder, as the judge orders that she accepts the mansion which Sam had been building for her but never got finished. Some parents may be distracted by the similarities to their old favorites, but kids will stay engaged and involved all the way to the end.Marriage turned out to be a bad thing for Julie ( Bianca Lawson - All About Christmas Eve) as her husband, Sam (Neil Jackson), turned out to be a control freak who inforced his rule over every aspect of her life, torturing her and locking her in closets to prevent her from leaving, which led to her fear of small places and closets. Of course, it's less likely that today's tweens will know those films, so hopefully it will all feel new to them. And that's not the only "homage" in play: The house is reminiscent of Clue, and the characters are like modern takes on The Breakfast Club. It's not, but it might feel that way because the plot has a lot in common with Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Writer Jeff Wild's script seems like it must be an adaptation of a middle grade novel. (If these are the "bad kids" of Bentonville High, can we all send our kids to school there?) And the way some of the games work feels less like advanced technology and more like a mind manipulation/ Vanilla Sky situation. Also, the whole setup - including why these particular five kids were selected - is pretty shaky. Virtue may be a genius, but some of his challenges are lawsuits waiting to happen. Still, even though Max Winslow and the House of Secrets allows kids' minds to work while they're sitting back, that doesn't mean everything quite adds up. Which is too bad, since kids like to figure things out. Despite substantial evidence in the entertainment world that kids enjoy mysteries, few of them exist for this age group. This curiosity of a smart-house-escape-room mystery will keep tweens on the edge of their seats, even if it's a little amateurish. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails. Still, the kids do demonstrate courage and humility and ultimately achieve personal growth - but, the movie says, that's thanks to technology, another aspect that may leave viewers scratching their heads. Plus, most of the issues originate with their parents, including pressure to achieve and abandonment. What's iffier is how often the term "bad kids" is used by adults to describe the teens, along with labels like "liar" and "troll." The teens aren't perfect, but their issues - being grumpy, pranking a neighbor, being obsessed with social media, etc. A little romance develops between two teens, there's some bullying, and one teen tries to take a beer from the refrigerator, but otherwise, the content here is very mild. But there's no graphic violence and ( spoiler alert?) everything and everyone turns out not just OK, but better for the experience. The house gets more malevolent as the story proceeds, and some menacing/perilous moments imply that something really bad is about to happen - so much so that at times it feels like a horror movie for kids. Parents need to know that Max Winslow and the House of Secrets is a Willy Wonka-meets-Elon Musk escape room-style mystery about teens who must outsmart a "smart" house.
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