His House

Decided to watch this film on Halloween as pretty much watched all the classics over the October month and i found this little gem very refreshing. Netflix has been disappointing this halloween with the terrible blyth manor but they pulled it back with this one. A horror story with heart that makes you feel lucky for the life you have. It tells the story of two asylum seekers and the struggles they face to settle in a new country BUT something has come along with them!! The story flows nicely, the acting is a decent effort and there are some very good jump scares. Some of the dream scenes are beautifully shot and kind of reminded me a bit of the scenes in The Ritual. Its not all horror but that shouldn't stop you giving this one a go.

The horrors that asylum-seekers have to put themselves through when meshed with a haunted house storyline is what we get in Netflix's His House. Bol (Dirisu) and Rial (Mosaku) are refugees fleeing their war-torn country of Sudan; they brave bullets, rough waters, and even lose their daughter as they finally arrive in Britain where they're granted probational asylum. They're temporarily moved into a shabby, crumbling house in the London suburbs, and that's when the past begins to haunt them.

His House is a pretty strong directorial debut from Remi Weekes, who has also written the screenplay. It may just be a 93-minute film, however, His House manages to dive equal parts deep into the struggles of immigrants as well as survivor guilt. While Bol tries to blend in with the new surroundings (he sings football anthems at bars, changes his attire, and prefers to use tables while eating), Rial holds firmly onto their culture (she wears their daughter's necklace, dresses in vibrant colors, and sits on the floor while eating).

The scares, the greatest thing about horror films, are well-conceived. Weeks mixes jumpscares with more atmosphere-heavy ones in an effort to keep viewers on edge. Practical and visual effects are put to solid use in these sequences, though some fare better than others. A little inspiration has been drawn from films like The Conjuring and Lights Out, in a good way. Weekes, through some effective crafting that blur the lines between fantasy and reality, elevates His House beyond the conventional haunted house movie.

Not everything works though. The final act switches horror for a somewhat predictable twist, and while the closing frames make for a powerful set of metaphors, it feels slightly sketchy from a closure standpoint. The performances are good for a film that revolves mostly around two (or three, if you include the beast) characters - Dirisu and Mosaku showcasing credible, lived-in feats.

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

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.

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.