House - Das Horrorhaus

'House' stars William Katt as Roger Cobb, an accomplished novelist who moves into his creepy aunt's house after her suicide. In bits and pieces, the audience discovers that Roger once lived in the house, as well, along with the aunt, Roger's wife, and their now-missing son, Jimmy. Roger believes that Jimmy is trapped somewhere in this mysterious house, which just happens to be some sort of portal between past and present dimensions...I think? Anyway, the audience becomes involved, well, at least myself and the rest of my company became involved, and you start to feel for this poor guy who has really sorry luck...in all areas. Roger, our tattered hero, has the pretty neighbor Tanya, who likes to come and swim in his pool, and who ALWAYS catches him at the worst times. Then he has the nosy neighbor Harold, played by George Wendt, who might be out to exploit him or may just be generally concerned. I don't know. Then there is the neighborhood dog who likes to dig up Roger's "saplings"....

Overall, I find this to be a fairly underrated little horror movie. It's definitely one of Steve Miner's more innovative attempts, and the music, reminiscent of the F13 music and performed by the same man, Harry Manfredini, is thoroughly haunting. Also, most importantly, the acting is believable. Major points for that. None of this movie is hokey. It could have been...but it wasn't. 7/10 is my vote.

I don't know when I first saw this movie. I know I was young, ten or eleven maybe. I remember being scared, and probably had some trouble turning off the light that night, but it never traumatized me. I've picked it up every so often ever since and always enjoyed it. It was one of the first R rated horror movies I saw, and now I'm hooked on the genre.

This is a great film when introducing children to "harder" horror. For those ready to move on from Scooby-Doo but not ready for Night of the Living Dead or The Exorcist. It's scary and suspenseful but never terrifying. Tension builds and there are plenty of jump scares, but the frights never last for long. Take the closet monster for instance. Tension builds as Roger goes to the door and there's a big scare when it comes out. But afterwards it becomes almost silly. Same with the fish and witch. It's a lot like Evil Dead 2 in that it's never too scary to not be funny and never too funny to not be scary.

There's also a good story to go along with it. It follows Roger Cobb who grew up with his aunt in a haunted house. He went to war and saw horrible things. His son disappeared at the haunted house and he's separated from his wife. Obviously, all this ties together in some way when the aunt dies and he moves back into the house. None of it ever becomes hokey or clichéd. The film allows time to get to know Roger before the haunting begins so we like him and understand his plight. There's also an interesting aspect regarding whether all the hauntings are real or just caused by the stress of his life.

George Wendt from Cheers plays the lovable neighbor that Roger befriends and helps. He isn't that much different than Norm but provides lots of humorous moments. The only thing I wish they did better is to make the supermodel neighbor more interesting. She's fine for some T&A and the house does something with her (which I still can never get whether that was really her or if it was just the witch), but she never really serves the story well. It's little more than a cameo just to have a model in the movie.

Each of the actors do well in their parts. All are great, though Richard Moll hams it up just a little too much in his Vietnam scenes. It features William Katt, who genre fans would know as the prom date from Carrie. This film certainly shows some range for him. The film is made by the crew who did Friday the 13th, Parts 2 and 3 and has the same visual style.

The special effects work very well for the story. The "ghosts" are practical effects using puppets, like Star Wars, which looks a lot better than stop motion. As I said before, they look scary at first but grow silly the more they're seen. The walking hand is equally disturbing and funny.

The movie may not be a classic of the genre, but it's well worth checking out. It's a descent ghost story with plenty of suspense. As I said before, this is a good movie to test children before showing them something like The Shining or Nightmare on Elm Street. Those used to more terrifying horror should know that this isn't the scariest thing on store shelves. It's a good, solid B-movie that won't really disappoint.

Regarding the sequel, I say skip it. As light as this movie is, House II is much lighter and far campier. In fact, it's more like Weekend at Bernie's than Evil Dead. It's more of a fantasy-western than horror and never scary. If you're watching this movie and want more, go with the Bruce Campbell trilogy.

The successful writer Roger Cobb (William Katt) is trying to write a book about his experience in Vietnam, but he is blocked after the disappearance of his son Jimmy and the divorce from his wife, the actress Sandy Sinclair (Kay Lenz). When his beloved Aunt Elizabeth (Susan French) is found dead hanged in her bedroom, Roger inherits the house and moves to live there. His snoopy neighbor and fan Harold Gorton (George Wendt) gets close to Roger and learns that his aunt claimed that the house is haunted. Further Jimmy disappeared in the swimming pool on the back of the house. While writing his memories from the Vietnam when his pal Big Ben (Richard Moll) was captured and tortured by the Vietcong, weird things happen in the house and soon Roger leans that the place is a gateway to a hellish dimension.

"House" is one of the best haunted house films ever made. The plot is funny and recalls "Twilight Zone", with surrealistic situations. William Katt is great in the role of the writer that wants solitude but finds monsters while haunted by his past. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "House - A Casa do Espanto" ("House - The Frightening House")

In the Eighties, horror flicks were all the rage. Sequels were obligatory and every year saw another Freddy, Jason, Pinhead or Michael Myers shocker. Among these were the House movies, which are a lot better than the genre reputation suggests.

First and foremost, this is not strictly a horror film. There are some sprinklings of light comedy here and there and the monsters are so ridiculous that they don't really scare. It sure makes for a welcome change in a decade full of blood, knifings and slayings.

Roger Cobb (William Katt) is a horror novelist, suffering from writers block. He can't seem to continue with his latest book, a recollection of his tour in 'Nam. The fans are eager but they want horror, not some war story. On top of all this, he is also dealing with a divorce and coping with the mysterious disappearance of his son. Depressed, he moves to his aunt's house, from where his son vanished and in which the old lady hung herself. A creepy log cabin in the mountains might be more appropriate, as Roger finds just as many distractions here.

The first distraction is his neighbour Harold (George Wendt), who shows up at the worst moments to hassle Roger in the Ned Flanders style. The second distraction is a little more sinister. Monsters burst out of the closet at midnight, doors in the house lead into different dimensions and he is haunted by the memories of his best friend (Richard Moll), whom he betrayed back in 'Nam. Third, there is a sexy blonde, who bathes in his pool.

One of the most appealing things about House is that Roger doesn't respond with any clichéd horror movie tactic - running away, falling flat on his face, hiding under the sink, etc. Instead, he buys a camcorder and tries to capture the monsters on film to convince Harold, and himself, that he is not crazy.

He even manages to persuade Harold to help him catch a big raccoon, which hides out in a certain closet and only shows itself at midnight. Even at this, Harold gets scared, but not us. The film is only slightly dark and keeps a jovial mood for an hour and a half.

Steve Miner (Halloween H20, Lake Placid) intrigues us as much as Roger as to what the hell is going on. Ethan Wiley's script is the tiniest bit loose, but is smarter than you would think and even contains a few little touches that you might miss on the first couple of viewings.

It could have been beefier and longer, but if it was, it wouldn't be as irresistibly charming.

House is an inventive, original eighties horror comedy that has built its foundations on a thin line between laughs and scares. And I love every minute of it. The Friday the 13th team (Steve Miner, Sean S. Cunningham, and Harry Manfredini) strikes again. Even Kane Hodder (Jason) does some stuntwork. The story and the script are both great thanks to Fred Dekker (The Monster Squad) and Ethan Wiley (House II). Steve Miner succeeds in creating the atmosphere of an old house and in finding a likable cast as well. The cast includes William Katt (Carrie) as the unlucky lead Roger Cobb, George Wendt (Normie from Cheers), and Richard Moll (Bull from Night Court). My favorite cast member is probably the house itself. It's perfect, I think they made it just for this movie. The effects and makeup are great for the eighties. Skeleton Big Ben is awesome. One standout scene is Roger and the mini-demons playing tug-a-war with the little boy Robert (Miner's own kid). The score, by Manfredini, is highly similar to that of Friday the 13th, but I love still love it. House is a well put together, underrated horror movie. If you're going to buy a house this year, make it this one.