Max Winslow and the House of Secrets is a science-fiction thriller written by Jeff Wild, produced by Johnny Remo and directed by Sean Olson. It is produced by SkipStone Pictures in association with Standing Room Only Cinema and BFY Productions and released theatrically through 3-D Live. The movie stars Sydne Mikelle, Tanner Buchanan, Jade Chynoweth, Emery Kelly, Jason Genao with Marina Sirtis and Chad Michael Murray.
Plot
The movie begins with a bunch of newscasters talking about the many accomplishments of genius Atticus Virtue before switching to high school student Max Winslow. Max lives with her mother and brother, her dad having left when she was five years old. Max is socially awkward and spends most of her time on computers and never connecting with people in real life. Max's family is in financial trouble and Max keeps hoping that her dad will come back to support them, despite not having seen him for several years.
At school later that day, narcissist Sophia Peach pulls up to school in her mom's car and snaps a selfie before getting out and nearly being run down by bully Aiden Ross on his skateboard. Aiden pushes past Max's brother Ethan, calling him a loser before moving on. In gym class, gamer Benny Carrasco sits out on the bleachers and plays a video game on his iPad. When the gym teacher gets his attention, Benny claims he has a note from his mother saying he has tendinitis (on account of playing video games all night).
In class, Sophia and Max present their poetry for the class (Sophia having made the poem about herself) and during Max's presentation of computer code, which she claims to be poetry in motion, a holographic image of Atticus Virtue is suddenly projected on the screen when the lights go out. He has taken over the high school's TV system and says that he is choosing five students to compete for a chance to win his elite, AI-powered mansion. At 3:16 pm, the students that were chosen are shown a text message saying "YES" on their screens. These students include Sophia, Aiden, Benny (who was too busy playing his game in the gym to pay attention to Mr. Virtue's announcement and has no idea what he has been chosen for), Max, and a popular student named Connor Lawson.
Connor finds out the next day that he has been accepted to an Ivy League school on a lacrosse scholarship, but unbeknownst to his parents (who are thrilled), he just wants to play his music and write songs. Max's mom Kathy agrees to let her daughter participate in the competition only if she texts her every hour. A limo picks up the kids and they chat on the way to the mansion, with Aiden pointing out that they are enemies once they arrive.
The kids are introduced to the AI system of the mansion, HAVEN (Home Automated Venture): The House of Tomorrow, who gives them Chick-Fil-A. While the kids are eating, Mr. Virtue appears on the table as a hologram and explains that he is away on business, but will be joining them again very soon. He directs them to another room for dessert, including jelly beans, gummy bears and chocolates, plus anything else the kids could want.
While exploring the room, the lights suddenly go out and the door locks, signaling that the game has begun. The kids are informed they have three chances to figure out a six-digit code that will unlock the door, or they'll be stuck there forever. After Sophia tries typing in her phone's password (999999), Max quickly figures out that Mr. Virtue gave them a clue when he mentioned what kind of desserts were in the room. She gets Benny and Connor to count the gummy bears and chocolates while she counts out the jelly beans, coming up with 89, 96 and 76. When Sophia tries the code, it is still wrong. After Max asks if they all counted correctly, Benny admits that he ate two gummy bears, making the code 89, 98 and 76. This time, Aiden punches in the code and is told that he has won the first game.
The kids split up to explore the rest of the mansion and Max goes down the stairs into the basement, where she finds a breath-activated door. HAVEN warns her that no one is allowed in the basement, ever, and she rejoins Benny and Connor by the piano. Sophia, live-streaming on her phone while looking for a bathroom finds one and is almost immediately locked inside. As she panics and begins to cry for help, a mirror image of herself asks her why she would want to get out while smiling at her evilly.