19 Aug The Night House Review

THE NIGHT HOUSE

dir. David Bruckner, starring Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Evan Jonigkeit, and Vondie Curtis-Hall

One of the main touchstones of The Night House is the power of secrets. It’s Owen’s (Jonikeit) secrets that gradually eat away at him until he’s walled himself off from Beth (Hall) and commits suicide. It’s Beth’s obsession with wanting to know those secrets that propels the plot forward. It’s the secrets that Beth’s neighbor (played by the always wonderful Vondie Curtis-Hall) keeps that could’ve affected the entire motion of events before the film even starts. Secrets lie at the heart of everything in The Night House and while that concept sounds interesting, the sad reality is the concept isn’t plumb with the execution.

The Night House, the story of Beth, freshly grieving after her husband’s death, discovers an almost identical mirror version of their home built unknowingly by her husband. The possibility of exploration of the danger of withholding information from significant others is rife with possibilities. Instead, what we get is a lot of Beth drinking herself into a stupor every night and being haunted by an unexplained phenomenon that may or may not be the spirit of her recently departed husband. While at times it seems that this disembodied being is helpful and at times harmful, it’s Beth’s infuriating decision making throughout that movie that left me as a viewer frustrated and confused. To add to that frustration, the reveal of exactly what’s been going on in the house fell flat of the suspense it built for itself, leaving us with a lackluster ending and a rumination of how this story could’ve been told in better hands.

The Night House stars Rebecca Hall, one of the unsung talents of the film industry. Fresh off of blockbuster film Godzilla v Kong, Hall returns to her dramatic roots as she shoulders the vast majority of the acting responsibility in the film. Grieving from her spouse’s recent death, Hall’s character Beth can be described as intensely confrontational; while still an emotional wreck, she doesn’t shy away from a number of verbal darts thrown at virtually everyone in the film at some point. Even her actions alone are aggressive; she closes doors noisily and tosses objects onto tables and counters with a loud clatter. Beth outwardly lets her emotions show with the thinnest veneer of a smile to try and cover them. This is best seen towards the end of the first act as Beth and her seemingly only friend Claire get dinner with coworkers. Hall’s commandment of the screen as she transitions between biting sarcasm and scorn is one of the best scenes of the film. This primes us for Beth’s headlong clash with the antagonist of the film which, while incredibly foolhardy, makes sense given Beth’s previously established actions and general laissez-faire attitude towards life. While Hall’s performance won’t blow the roof off the theater, it’s still solid enough to at times empathize with Beth as she searches for answers while also yelling that age-old trope what are you thinking, don’t go up the stairs!

Directed by David Bruckner, a man firmly entrenched within the horror genre, The Night House’s strongest suit lies in the mood Bruckner sets. While jump scares in horror movies are these days considered a cliché if overused, the few that are sprinkled throughout the film are effective because of the tone set by Bruckner and his crew, sure to give viewers that anticipated yet still surprising jolt of shock. Aided by the ominous score provided by Ben Lovett, Bruckner lets the creep factor settle in as night falls in the house. Clever bits of camerawork, blended by visual effects, help to sell the question of what’s actually happening in the house. At 110 minutes, The Night House could deal with a bit of tightening as a meandering second act leads to a rushed conclusion. The reveal, while cleverly presented thanks in large part to Bruckner, comes far too late in the film which might leave audiences ultimately underwhelmed and dissatisfied.

Overall, The Night House is a passable horror movie weighed down by a weak story. With such a porous foundation, the structure built on top (writing, acting, directing) are forced to do the best with what little they have to work with. Rebecca Hall tries her hardest in her meanest, surliest role to date and while she carries a major brunt of the acting talent, she can only bear so much of the load. Competently directed by David Bruckner, who tries to work around the weak story by crafting a decently creepy tone, the film’s strengths are ultimately undone by its weaknesses. With other films in the genre still to be released (Candyman, Malignant, Halloween Kills), The Night House will unfortunately likely be forgotten by year’s end. Regardless, if you’re in the mood to curl up on the couch and be unsettled on a Friday night, it’ll be enough to scratch that itch. The Night House is currently playing in theaters.

Review by Darryl Mansel