The Night House [2021]
When a loved one suddenly departs this world for the next, what is it they truly leave behind? More importantly... do we really want to know?
The Night House is a horror thriller that lands somewhere between American Horror Story: Murder House and Patrick Swayze's Ghost. A strange combo to be certain, but the vision of director David Bruckner manages to (mostly) pull it off, even if it leaves you somewhat wanting.
While there's nothing exactly memorable about House, there isn't anything delinquent about it either. I'm writing this two days after seeing it and I can't remember the score, any of the cinematography, or anything particularly jarring about the story. Everything just sort of... was.
From The Ritual director, David Bruckner comes another horror thriller with enough bite to engage and enough artistic vision to excite for future projects, but not quite enough tact or depth to be truly memorable. Like his previous film, House simply has too many moving pieces and never quite finely tunes any of them. Don't get me wrong here, I loved the concept behind The Night House. It's a twist on another cult classic film series that I really enjoyed being told in this light. However, with a little more grace and subtlety, House would have truly been something special. As is, it's fun but forgettable.
Don't let this one pass you by if you're a fan of middleweight thrillers with some truly fun visual tricks.
