His House [2020]
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IMDB: 6.5 RT: 100/74 Me: 8.9
"After all we've endured, after what we have seen... You think it is bumps in the night that frighten me?"
From debut director Remi Weekes, His House tells the harrowing tale of a Sudanese refugee family who is more than a little haunted by their past. With some truly chilling scares, excellent use of light and shadow, and an eclectic score that mixes both modern Hollywood-style tones with more traditional sounds, His House is a ride well worth taking.
Excellent performances by both the leads, unique and upsetting scares, and incredible cinematography set House apart from every other film in the genre. Where most horror films are dull, predictable, shocking, or vapid; His House is sharp, unsettling, upsetting, and poignant. Few films in general (and even fewer horror films) are as smartly told or envisioned as this stunning breakout adventure.
I do, at the end, find myself wishing it had paced itself slightly differently -- a little slower. The middle act of the film is very strong with the end accelerating to the point of making the scares routine. I say almost, because they evolve from "scares" into much, much more. Which is part of House's strength. Just when you think you understand, everything changes. But it doesn't twist, it deepens. While I would solidly categorize this as a "horror" film, it certainly doesn't deserve the stigma that comes with the tag. This is a movie that has a clear and obvious literal plot, with a more nuanced and metaphorical one underneath.
His House largely deals with the traumas experienced by the characters themselves and the many, many others just like them. If you watch it for the purely "horror" elements, you won't be disappointed. If you stop at the end and really consider what it means to flee for your life as a refugee into a foreign country, you won't be disappointed either. His House is not only a very impressive breakout film, but an incredibly important one as well.
We live in a world where people kill each other over nothing and less than nothing every day, it's time we started to be better. Gather your loved ones, pack your most beloved treasures, and get ready to make a break for your new life in His House.
"Your ghosts follow you. They never leave. They live with you. It's when I let them in, I could start to face myself."
