We mourn a loss together, but we grieve alone. A horror film where despair and depression are threats as formidable as any boogeyman, The Night House opens at the point where mourning ends and grieving begins, watching as Beth (Rebecca Hall), a schoolteacher in upstate New York, returns from the funeral of her husband Owen (Evan Jonigkeit). A concerned friend walks her to the door, tells Beth to call her anytime, hands her a casserole, then leaves without joining her inside. As the sun sets over the nearby lake, Beth pauses, dumps the casserole in the trash, then waits for night to come.
It may not be arriving alone. Beth finds her nights are made restless by more than just the loss of her husband. Strange noises wake her from sleep. What appear to be bloody footprints mark the dock leading up to the back door. One night, shades of Personal Shopper, she receives texts from Owen, but when she wakes up, the texts have vanished. Its all extremely troubling. More troubling: Beth starts waking up away from her bed, with no memory of having moved from one place to another.
Written by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski (the team behind the memorable 2017 film Super Dark Times) and directed by David Bruckner (part of the crew responsible for The Signal and V/H/S), The Night House is simultaneously a haunted-house story and a mystery. One striking early scene reveals the details of Owens death via a tense conversation between Beth and a students parent whos trying to nudge Beth toward giving her son a higher grade, because after all, Beth was absent on the date shed scheduled a make-up project. Beth replies with unmasked hostility, telling the parent that she was unavailable then because that was the day her husband rowed out to the middle of the lake and shot himself. And, no, she doesnt know why.
As the film progresses, Beth starts to piece the story behind the suicide together, but each new detail only deepens the mystery. Owen was an architect who designed their house, but why do the blueprints contain other plans for a similar house? Why did their friendly widowed neighbor Mel (Vondie Curtis-Hall) not tell Beth he sometimes saw Owen walking the woods at night, at least once with another woman? Why does their library contain books on the occult? And whos that woman in the photograph on Owens phone, with her head turned away from the camera? She could almost pass for Beth, if Beth didnt know better.
As the clues mount, Bruckner doles out scares in mounting intensity, a template for haunted-house movies dating at least back to 1944s The Uninvited. Its skillfully executed enough to make The Night House worth a look on technical merit alone, turning every corner of a luxurious lake house into a site of deep dread. But whats memorable is the films interest in exploring ideas deeper than how scary it might be to be unexpectedly alone and seemingly surrounded by malevolent specters. The title has a literal meaning within the film, one better left unspoiled, but it also suggests the loneliness of Beths newly empty home and the shadows that threaten to envelop her, shadows that might be formidable threats even without the questions raised by Owens shocking death.
Owen, Beth confesses to her friends, was their marriages optimist. She was the one prone to spiraling darkness. What is she supposed to do now? But while her friends care about her, they also grow uncomfortable and impatient the more she talks about her loss. They offer bromides, dismiss her concerns, and steer her away from probing into Owens death. This kind of loss makes it hard to know what to do, what advice to offer, and all of it rings hollow to Beths ears anyway. Her nighttime visitors, however, have no trouble making themselves heard.
Hall plays Beth as a difficult woman who doesnt always invite sympathy, even in her hour of need. Her grief takes the form of anger and suspicion. She behaves in ways that push other people away. Even her best friend Claire (Sarah Goldberg) isnt sure what to do, beyond remaining present and listening. The film weaves a study of what it means to discover youve built your life over an abyss into the fabric of a multiplex-friendly horror movie, but it wouldnt work without Halls deft, complex performance. She plays Beth as a woman shocked by her loss, but the real horror lies in the way the secrets she unearths seem to encourage her most self-destructive tendencies. When everything that gives her life meaning disappears, it starts to look like confirmation that it all might be meaningless. Maybe its time to pour another brandy and let the darkness in.
A tension enters The Night Houses home stretch as the demands of the genre start to eat away at the ambiguity at least up to a point. The film fully reveals what Owen was up to prior to his death, but what accompanies that revelation, particularly its connection to Beths past, can be read a couple of different ways, and the film smartly refuses to tell viewers what to think. Though the final moments are sure to frustrate viewers uncomfortable with unanswered questions, the grayness suits the subject. Sometimes it isnt just the houses that are haunted, the people within their walls are too. Some ghosts cant easily be pushed out or explained away. Some of them, we have to live with.
The Night House debuts in theaters on August 20.
See original here:
The Night House review: A haunted-house horror with cosmic secrets - Polygon
- 'Immaculate' ending explained: Was the baby a demon? - Business Insider - April 2nd, 2024
- 10 Horror Movies That Would Have Ended Earlier If Their Heroes Were Smarter - CBR - Comic Book Resources - April 2nd, 2024
- Terrifier 3 director reveals they filmed 'most insanely horrific scenes' that nearly made lead actor vomit on set - UNILAD - April 2nd, 2024
- The Latest Stephen King Horror Movie Has A Killer Cast And Director - SlashFilm - April 2nd, 2024
- THE FIRST OMEN 2024: Release Date, Cast, Plot, And Everything You Need to Know - FANGORIA - April 2nd, 2024
- Sting Review | Excellent Creature Feature with an Emotional Backdrop - MovieWeb - April 2nd, 2024
- IMMACULATE Interview with Director Michael Mohan, Discussing the Making of the Film, Reactions to the Ending, and ... - Daily Dead - April 2nd, 2024
- Mood 'Windigo' - Book and Film Globe - April 2nd, 2024
- A 2016 Thriller Is The Top Movie On Netflix Right Now - HuffPost - April 2nd, 2024
- 10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching Beetlejuice, 36 Years Later - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- All the Horror Movies We Can't Wait To See in 2024 - The Mary Sue - April 2nd, 2024
- A Buzzy Korean Horror Movie Is Sneakily One Of The Biggest Box Office Hits Of 2024 - SlashFilm - April 2nd, 2024
- Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey 3 horror movie confirmed, after second film debuted to a surprise perfect Rotten ... - Gamesradar - April 2nd, 2024
- Fear Street 4 Is Reviving An Old Horror Trend That Was Perfected 48 Years Ago - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- Lisa Frankenstein Hides The Fact That It Cast The Real Star Of 2023's Viral $181 Million Horror Movie - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- Finally, Someone Confirms That A Sequel To HELLRAISER Is In The Works - FANGORIA - April 2nd, 2024
- We're definitely hard at work on: Hellraiser Sequel Promises to Be Even More Terrifying as Producer Vows to Take ... - FandomWire - April 2nd, 2024
- Future Chucky Movie Will Connect To The Series, Says Don Mancini - Screen Rant - April 2nd, 2024
- After Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 2, Freddy and Jason Need to Cameo in the Poohniverse - MovieWeb - April 2nd, 2024
- Chucky Creator Reveals He is Working on a New Child's Play Movie: 'Whatever Keeps Me Working' - MovieWeb - April 2nd, 2024
- AI In Late Night With The Devil Sparks Controversy - Forbes - March 24th, 2024
- A horror movie based on a Stephen King novel with a disappointing Rotten Tomatoes score is climbing Netflix's top 10 - Gamesradar - March 24th, 2024
- This is why we're so obsessed with nuns in horror movies - according to the official source, a nun - Gamesradar - March 24th, 2024
- Stephen King reveals the one horror movie he couldn't sit through as he was too scared - UNILAD - March 24th, 2024
- Late Night With the Devil directors address the use of AI art in the film - JoBlo.com - March 24th, 2024
- David Dastmalchian on Late Night with the Devil, The Life of Chuck and Good Fiend Films - Kansas City Pitch - March 24th, 2024
- Welcome to the Poohniverse: Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey Team to Unite Pooh, Bambi, Tinkerbell and More in Low-Budget Horror Crossover (EXCLUSIVE)... - March 24th, 2024
- Late Night with the Devil is the best horror movie of the year so far - Yahoo Movies Canada - March 24th, 2024
- Sydney Sweeney 'wanted to be drenched in blood' in 'Immaculate' - Entertainment Weekly News - March 24th, 2024
- Film of the Week: 'Stopmotion' - The best horror film of 2024 so far - Euronews - March 24th, 2024
- How to Watch Immaculate: Is the Sydney Sweeney Movie Streaming? - TheWrap - March 24th, 2024
- THE FIRST OMEN: A Battle With The Devil And An NC-17 Rating FANGORIA - FANGORIA - March 24th, 2024
- Elevated Horror: The New Wave of Artful Scares Taking Over Hollywood - LRM Online - March 24th, 2024
- Late Night With the Devil Plot Explained: The True Meaning of the Movie - The Direct - March 24th, 2024
- David Chase is directing his first film in 12 years. Its a horror movie. - NJ.com - March 24th, 2024
- Us Was The Box Office Hit That Gave Jordan Peele True Power In Hollywood - SlashFilm - March 24th, 2024
- Cast of 'Gremlins': Catch Up With the Stars of the '80s Hit - First For Women - March 24th, 2024
- 'Immaculate' Review: Sydney Sweeney Is Wide-Eyed but Sly - The New York Times - March 24th, 2024
- Sydney Sweeney explains that bloody 'Immaculate' ending - Entertainment Weekly News - March 24th, 2024
- When Will Sydney Sweeney's Horror Film, 'Immaculate,' Be Available to Stream? - AOL - March 24th, 2024
- Blumhouse to Return Insidious and Other Titles to Theaters for Halfway to Halloween Fest - Hollywood Reporter - March 16th, 2024
- Every Movie In The Wrong Turn Franchise Ranked - SlashFilm - March 16th, 2024
- Blumhouse Celebrating 'Halfway to Halloween' With Five Horror Movies Returning to 100 AMC Movie Theaters - Bloody Disgusting - March 16th, 2024
- DeWanda Wise Sings Creepy Theme Of New Horror Film: 'Imaginary' - The Root - March 16th, 2024
- Hostel: Part II (2007) WTF Happened to This Horror Movie? - JoBlo.com - March 16th, 2024
- New LEPRECHAUN Movie Will Be Funny, Scary And Full Of Practical Effects - FANGORIA - March 16th, 2024
- Blumhouse Celebrating Halfway to Halloween With Five Horror Movies Returning to 100 AMC Movie Theaters - IMDb - March 16th, 2024
- The Horror Nail-Biter On Max With A Controversial Ending - Giant Freakin Robot - March 16th, 2024
- "Says the person who was in Madame Web": Sydney Sweeney is Getting Skewered for Saying Modern Horror Movies ... - FandomWire - March 16th, 2024
- First trailer for horror movie reboot The Crow features an unrecognizable Bill Skarsgrd on a bloody mission of revenge - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- You'll Never Find Me Is Unforgettable Horror, See The Terror In Action - Giant Freakin Robot - March 16th, 2024
- The First Omen star has seen all of your internet theories about the horror movie prequel and, well, they're all wrong - Gamesradar - March 16th, 2024
- Sltface take on horror movies with their new single, 'Final Grl' - Dork Magazine - March 16th, 2024
- From 'Five Nights at Freddy's' to 'Imaginary': Why Blumhouse loves PG-13 horror - theday.com - March 16th, 2024
- The First Omen's Big Death Reveal Really Doesn't Bode Well For The Prequel - Screen Rant - March 16th, 2024
- 20 Scariest Horror Movies to Come Out in the Last 5 Years - MovieWeb - March 16th, 2024
- 'The Animal Kingdom' Exclusive Clip Previews the Gnarly Body Horror of Magnet's New Movie - Bloody Disgusting - March 16th, 2024
- 'Oddity' Review: This Supernatural Horror Film Will Tear You To Pieces | SXSW 2024 - Collider - March 16th, 2024
- "Marketing is failing this movie tremendously": David Dastmalchian's Late Night With the Devil Dubbed as One of the ... - FandomWire - March 16th, 2024
- STOPMOTION is a handcrafted tale of beauty and horror - Moviejawn - March 16th, 2024
- Horror Lovers Will Love this Dining Spot in Texas - klaq.com - March 8th, 2024
- Is Late Night With The Devil Based On A True Story? - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- Kooky King: 6 of the Weirdest Stephen King Film Adaptations - Nightmare on Film Street - March 8th, 2024
- The Unknown, the Viral Willy Wonka Experience Villain, Is Already Getting Their Own Horror Movie - IGN - March 8th, 2024
- 13 Original Horror Movies We Can't Wait to See in 2024 - Screen Rant - March 8th, 2024
- From 'Imaginary' to 'Five Nights at Freddy's.' Why Blumhouse loves PG-13 horror - Los Angeles Times - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary Movie Review: M3gan Meets The Boogeyman - Mama's Geeky - March 8th, 2024
- Christopher Nolan Originally Conceived Inception As A Horror Movie - SlashFilm - March 8th, 2024
- 'Whalefall' Movie in the Works From 'No One Will Save You' Director Brian Duffield - The Mary Sue - March 8th, 2024
- Horror Movie Based On THE UNKNOWN From Glasgow's WILLY WONKA Experience In The Works Horror Movie ... - CBM (Comic Book Movie) - March 8th, 2024
- Horrifying 'Late Night With The Devil' Trailer Released - Outkick - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary review: M3GAN, take the wheel - Dexerto - March 8th, 2024
- The Unknown: Horror Movie Based on Unofficial Willy Wonka Experience Is in the Works - ComingSoon.net - March 8th, 2024
- Imaginary Film Review: Light on Frights - Loud And Clear Reviews - March 8th, 2024
- Dead Mail Directors on Their '80s Horror Influences - MovieWeb - March 8th, 2024
- HORROR BEAT: Blumhouse offers a non-update on the future of THE EXORCIST - Comics Beat - March 8th, 2024
- And the Oscar for best picture doesn't go to ... horror! - NPR - March 8th, 2024
- Shaitaan OTT Release: When And Where To Watch R Madhavan And Ajay Devgn Starrer Horror Thriller Film - Indiatimes.com - March 8th, 2024
- The 'Wonka Experience' Is Being Turned Into A Horror Movie - UPROXX - March 8th, 2024
- 8 new horror movies on Netflix, Max, Shudder and more in March 2024 - TechRadar - March 8th, 2024
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero