Glasshouse

2021

1h 34m

Drama

Mystery & Thriller

Sci-Fi

List

82%

33 Reviews

Tomatometer

65%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

A memory-shredding neurochemical permeates the atmosphere like airborne dementia. Safe within an airtight glasshouse, a family preserves their past through rituals of collective memory. Mother teaches her children to protect their sanctuary at all costs. They hand-pollinate plants and shoot intruders on sight. The litany of their recited history centers around the long-awaited return of Luca, the prodigal son. Free-spirited Bee misses her twin passionately. To escape the memory of his loss, she deliberately exposes herself to the toxin. Gabe looms as a tragic warning against this path: he played too long outside, and now he is forever a child. Haunted by guilt, Evie obsessively archives keepsakes in her memory box to protect herself from her deepest fear: oblivion. The youngest, Daisy, lives solely in the present -- a savage innocent. When Bee breaks the family's first rule and lets a Stranger into their sanctuary, it upsets the family's rituals, unearthing truths they have tried to keep buried. Is he really their lost brother? Or are they players in a story he is rewriting to his own ends?

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Critics Consensus

A uniquely seductive post-apocalyptic tale buttressed by a solid cast, Glasshouse augurs well for Kelsey Egan's filmmaking future.

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Hugo S

The world was ravaged by a toxin that erased collective memory. Secluded in their glasshouse, a family manages to survive the pandemic by following strict rituals and killing anyone who crosses their path. Unexpectedly, their routine is changed when one of the daughters invites a wounded man into the house, initiating a game of seduction and mystery. Is this stranger a threat greater than the invisible enemy that steals memories? "Glasshouse" is a dystopian horror movie offering a seductive introspective on grief and loneliness. A family secret disturbing enough to revive the memory of who they truly are. Haunting and sexually provocative!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/14/24

Full Review

nick s

A one set show, this "sci fi" was not much of a spectacle. Okay, so they hired a big greenhouse. It also struggled in the acting department. In fairness to the actors the directing was subpar and they had to stand about a lot waiting for their moment. Editing was not much chop either. It felt like the average shot length at the start of the movie was about 2s... almost nauseating.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

12/30/23

Full Review

james n

Deliciously weird and mysterious, horny and creepy, this film clings to your mind like an itch you can't seem to ever scratch. Seemingly always revealing it's truths, while just keeping them from your grasp, letting you slowly build your own lore behind the world in which it's set. Stellar casting, wonderfully acted, gorgeously shot, and oddly satisfying when it reaches it's macabre end.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/21/23

Full Review

جميل فكرة جديدة وفيه اثارة

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

10/01/23

Full Review

Dylan L

It was a really interest movie. I loved the acting of Jessica Alexander.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/29/23

Full Review

brad p

‘Glasshouse' is a cool idea weighed down by a lot of baggage that doesn't say anything or really go anywhere. It's a house of vibes and not much else.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

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Kelsey Egan

Director

Jessica Alexander

Bee

Anja Taljaard

Evie

Hilton Pelser

The Stranger

Adrienne Pearce

Mother

Brent Vermeulen

Gabe

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Noel Murray

Los Angeles Times

Throughout, Egan... leans into the sensuality of her premise, in which a handful of lonely ladies are suddenly delivered a handsome stranger.

Jul 15, 2022

Full Review

Leslie Felperin

Guardian

A sinister, seductive meditation on memory, desire and loss.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 31, 2022

Full Review

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

AWFJ.org

Kelsey Egan's Glasshouse from South Africa is a masterclass in how small-scale fantastic allegory and its world-building potential can provide fertile ground with which to examine the stain of colonialism itself

Aug 25, 2021

Full Review

Sarah Vincent

Cambridge Day

Instead of using dystopia as a critique, this South African film indulges a regressive impulse – eugenics wrapped in soft-core.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 16, 2023

Full Review

Nuha Hassan

The UnderSCENE

Egan’s Glasshouse is an interesting addition to the sci-fi genre that predicts the future of the world.

Jul 20, 2023

Full Review

Sharai Bohannon

Dread Central

‘Glasshouse’ is a cool idea weighed down by a lot of baggage that doesn’t say anything or really go anywhere. It’s a house of vibes and not much else.

Rated: 2/5

Jul 23, 2022

Full Review

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Synopsis

A memory-shredding neurochemical permeates the atmosphere like airborne dementia. Safe within an airtight glasshouse, a family preserves their past through rituals of collective memory. Mother teaches her children to protect their sanctuary at all costs. They hand-pollinate plants and shoot intruders on sight. The litany of their recited history centers around the long-awaited return of Luca, the prodigal son. Free-spirited Bee misses her twin passionately. To escape the memory of his loss, she deliberately exposes herself to the toxin. Gabe looms as a tragic warning against this path: he played too long outside, and now he is forever a child. Haunted by guilt, Evie obsessively archives keepsakes in her memory box to protect herself from her deepest fear: oblivion. The youngest, Daisy, lives solely in the present -- a savage innocent. When Bee breaks the family's first rule and lets a Stranger into their sanctuary, it upsets the family's rituals, unearthing truths they have tried to keep buried. Is he really their lost brother? Or are they players in a story he is rewriting to his own ends?

Director: Kelsey Egan
Screenwriter: Emma Lungiswa De Wet, Kelsey Egan
Genre: Drama, Mystery & Thriller, Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 12, 2022
Runtime: 1h 34m