House of Spoils

This is a movie that caught my attention because of the actors attached to it. Also, I've enjoyed movies like The Menu (2022) and tv shows like The Bear (2022-) that focus on cooking and the restaurant industry. After watching this movie, the movie's title literally says everything you need to know about the quality and it was also produced by Blumhouse.

Positives for The House of Spoils (2024): Ariana DeBose gives a great performance as the main protagonist, no surprising given she is an Academy Award Winner. I definitely believe her as this chef struggling in the restaurant industry and she does a fantastic job whenever she has to go crazy. I also liked Barbie Ferreira as Lucia, Arian Moayed as Andres and Marton Csokas as Marcello. The cooking sequences themselves are very well handled, but that's just me because I don't cook. And finally, there are a couple of decent horror scenes.

Negatives for The House of Spoils (2024): This movie definitely feels like a Blumhouse horror movie in many ways. There are some moments with bad dialogue that stick out. I also didn't think the movie did a great job at exploring the history of this old restaurant and its previous owner, but then again Blumhouse tends to do this a lot. The movie feels like any other generic haunted building movie with little to no effort. And finally, the ending of this movie was very anti-climatic.

Overall, The House of Spoils isn't one of the worst Blumhouse movies, but it is still a bad movie. Honestly if you enjoy a lot of the movies from Blumhouse, you can give it a watch. If you're someone who is tired of the same old generic movies from this movie studio, then I suggest you skip this one.

Sure, it's not the best horror-thriller ever, but I was still reasonably entertained, at least till the (slightly deflative) end. The premise of an ambitious cook trying to create her own restaurant in an isolated and dilapidated mansion is pretty original for a horror, the atmosphere is pleasantly creepy, and for the first hour the mounting pressure on the chef (Ariana DeBose) to perform, while more and more strange and inexplicable happenings are undermining her confidence and sanity, kept me curious about what to expect next.

But after we were confronted with the shimmering ghost of the former owner, who was apparently a woman interested in natural ingredients but considered by the locals to be a witch, the story rapidly lost its focus. The chills and scares lessened, the ghost got hardly any background; and the chef turning rather abruptly raving mad, but still capable of totally impromptu creating her best dinner-menu ever, was really too far of a stretch.

Ariana DeBose nevertheless gave a strong performance as the at first firm and resolute, but gradually mentally overwrought chef, and Arian Moayed did a great job too as her relentless, opportunistic financial back-up. The photography is fine, and there's even some social criticism discernible at posh and hedonistic restaurant-visitors who revel over exotic flavors, as well as a hint to better appreciation of the use of natural ingredients and nature in general. But the rough way in which the chef seizes, kills and roasts a poor rabbit to make it the height of her prize-dinner seemed to me totally out of character with this supposed love of nature.

The story was fairly original, but those looking for horror will be disappointed. This is something a bit closer to Practical Magic with a dash of Like Water for Chocolate magic realism and a garnish of witchy ghost. It feels like a fairly niche film, but for those who enjoy that niche; it's a delightful little unexpurgated Grimm's fairy tale of movie.

The dialogue definitely veers into clunky here and there, but I feel like this could be a sleeper late night snack film. DeBose brings a controlled physicality to her role which helps make the silent moments shine. The characters are two dimensional in the way of a slightly expanded fairy tale: where the fairy tales use archetypes, the movie adds a touch of nuance to the characters, though they could have fleshed them out a bit more. None of the other actors really throw themselves into the slightly absurd premise the way deBose does, and without that slightly unhinged commitment, they can't paper over weaknesses in the plot or writing in the same way.

But if you want a sort of Casa-de-Espíritus-light, set in a fine dining haunted house, this could be movie for you.

Food movies have been all the rage the last few years. And almost all of them have been pretty good. 'House of Spoils' is sadly the first real letdown in the sub-genre that I've seen. It felt very much like a film that didn't have enough of any one thing, so tried to throw multiple things at the wall in the hope that one of them would stick.

The end result is a bit of a chaotic mess - and not a particularly interesting one either. The film is probably at its most interesting when it is just being a regular kitchen drama. But even then all the drama and obstacles feel very forced.

I had hopes that all the grind of the first hour was just setting up for a strong finish. Unfortunately the final 20-30 minutes are probably the most dull part of the film. It really does whimper home. This one wasn't for me. 4/10.

The movie is well done, cinematography, acting, dialogues. The story contains something that's pretty out there and is at times hard to watch. I'm a chef myself, but I'm critical when it comes to fine and "haute cuisine". The main element of the cooking I find inspiring, but like I mentioned, it's hard to watch in context of the basis of the story. What I also liked was the ending but not in the sense of how it all turned out. I mean rather the scene/picture of the snobby guests sitting together with all cooks and employees outside at the fire. This scene alone could be an inspiration for a complete different story/movie, no matter which genre.

Unfortunately it's not enough for me to give it more than an average rating / 5 out of 10 stars. When I give 5 stars it means I made it to the end without getting bored. Not sure I would recommend it to friends or thus to anyone. Simply because there's just not enough in it. Better watch "The Menu" instead, if you haven't already.