His House

Different and memorable. Not predictable, left me wondering in what order it was written.

Exploring themes of grief, trauma, immigration, assimilation, remorse & acceptance through a horror lens, His House is a haunting & harrowing depiction of the refugee experience and, in addition to capturing their inward & outward struggle in adjusting to new life in new place, also delivers as a thrilling & effective haunted house chiller.

Written & directed by Remi Weekes, the film blends character drama & genre thrills into one finely layered narrative and holds nothing back when unleashing the terror that dwells within the walls of their new home. While there are times when the story becomes perplexing, everything adds up & makes sense once the full picture of the characters' backstory is revealed.

The atmosphere within the rundown residence is palpably tense & often unsettling, and though Weekes relies on jump scares to frighten the viewers, most of them do work out in the film's favour. Wunmi Mosaku & Sope Dirisu play the young refugee couple seeking asylum after escaping their war-torn homeland, and they both chip in with performances that are credible, grounded & convincing.

Overall, His House is a welcome entry in the world of horror and also marks a solid debut for Remi Weekes' directorial career. The proper care with which he sketches the characters' troubled past, vulnerable present & uncertain future, and brings it in sync with the immigrant issues gives his picture a relevant touch & relatable appeal. One of the better horror entries in Netflix canon, His House is certainly worth a shot.

It starts well, midway you think it's following a standard horror movie course, but stick with it! Very well done. Terrific ending!

His House starts great and it also ends strongly. However, that beginning and that ending feel like they are from two different movies. It's quite unfortunate that it made me feel that way because I do think that there is a lot of things that this movie gets right.

Let's start with the first half of the movie. What I would consider the horror half. This film began very quickly and left very little time for the viewer to get situated. The first 45 minutes were indeed very scary, and I was drawn to the screen. But what made that first half so great, was that it didn't just rely on the usual horror tropes. His House explored themes of racism and all the other challenges that refugees face. These issues were explored in a way that caused tension even outside of the house that works as the centrepiece of the story. Another aspect that created its own horror was distrust and challenges of marriage. This film managed to create an atmosphere of constant terror and tension, and I, for one, really liked it.

The second half, however, moves into a completely different direction. What started as a pure horror film, shifts more and more into a drama as the run time moves towards its end. The horror changes from the typical haunted house style more into creature horror. That's also where the movie stopped being scary for me. I have never found creature horror to be particularly scary and this film didn't change that. I do realize that that is a personal problem, and most people will probably find the second half to be nearly as scary as the first one. But it's not just the normal horror stuff that changes. The two aforementioned aspects of immigration and marriage are almost completely forgotten about. And it is quite unfortunate that this is the case. I felt that they added so much to this movie and made it more than just another haunted house film.

With that being said, I did like the second half nearly as much as I liked the first one. His House end up becoming a rather touching drama by the time it finishes. And if it forgot about the challenges of immigration and marriage, it replaced it with the conundrum of whether to leave ones home country in the first place. Although a new home promises a better life, is that always going to be the reality?

There is a lot to like about His House. I think that it fantastically approached horror by making it about more than just jump scares and a scary atmosphere. I also liked that it was a haunted house film that didn't take place in an abandoned mansion. And, I also liked the second half with everything it had to offer. The thing that lessened my excitement was the fact that I felt like I ended up watching two different films. Had there been more cohesion between the two halves, I'm certain that I would've liked this film quite a bit more.

Hail to director Remi Weekes for a very different approach to horror!

I fell in love with the main characters from the very beginning, and sympathized with them. The performances by Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku are incredible, especially Wunmi, who - in my opinion - delivered an Oscar winning performance. She was stunning!

I found 'His House' so captivating that I was glued to the screen. The director effectively created suspense with background imagery and shadows - without the use of blaring scare music. This made it more realistic, and a hell of a lot scarier. Some scenes were truly creepy! The use of close-up photography and wide and long shots were also highly effective. 'His House' might come across as another haunted house film, but this was very different, with bucket loads of emotion - enhanced by Wunmi's fabulous performance!

Eventually, the film offered more than I expected. It was a heart wrenching depiction of a couple who lost a child - but not entirely in the sense you'd expect. It was disturbing on so many levels.

'His House' might not be everyone's cup of tea, but it is brilliant film making. The film received 37 award nominations, winning 8 - including Outstanding Debut by a British Writer Director or Producer, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Production Design, Best Effects, Best Film.

Would I watch it again? Probably, yes.