"The Night House" (2020, David Bruckner, Phantom Four Films, Anton, TSG Entertainment, Searchlight Pictures) is a haunted house film centred around grief.
Beth (Rebecca Hall) returns home after the funeral of her husband, Owen (Evan Jonigkeit), to the beautiful lakeside house he designed and built for them. She attempts to go about her normal life as much as possible, but at night she is haunted by increasingly disturbing and realistic dreams. She finds herself waking up in different places around the house and, against the warnings of her concerned friend, Claire (Sarah Goldberg) and neighbour, Mel (Vondie Curtis Hall), she starts to dig into Owen's secrets uncovering some things about her husband and their home that she did not know.
A truly beautifully shot film which is slow burning and laced with intrigue. I found myself rapt for 107 minutes and even jumped at one or two places (which is not something I find myself doing often). The story straddles the daily horrors of dealing with grief with the haunted house elements very well, creating a balance rather than feeling like two different themes. The grief of Beth's loss and her building feelings of betrayal intertwine with her unravelling of Owen's life and the dreams that Beth is experiencing.
Rebecca Hall gives a wonderful performance as our protagonist, Beth. She is sad and forlorn, but she is also angry and driven to uncover the meaning behind Owen's sad fate. We feel sympathy for her, but we also appreciate that she is lashing out at those with her best interests at heart. She has such a wonderful range of emotions in every scene. We really share her emotional journey.
The effects and styling of the haunting are captivating and creative. The use of negative space, shadows and the feeling of something being there that cannot be seen keep you watching the background of every scene for signs of 'life'. The house feels both extremely open and extremely claustrophobic. And, as we build to the climax, the presence becomes more and more threatening.
There are a few clues dropped quite early in the film that may give the game away for some of us seasoned horror viewers, but it didn't ruin my enjoyment of the journey. And I feel like the film does a good job of explaining just enough to come to a satisfying conclusion without getting too bogged down in explaining its lore and rules.
The film has an interesting take on what happens after death which does not fully conform to the usual Christian religious leanings and I personally found this thought-provoking and unique in a genre so often tied to Christian beliefs.
Certainly a film I'm glad I watched in a cinema, but one I would also like to experience again in my own home. Although, it might make me look twice at some of our corners and furniture...
[Image: Phantom Four Films, et al]
