Mixing Hitchcockian suspense and thrills and supernatural scares, The Night House makes for an intriguing watch.
Rebecca Hall stars as widow Beth who begins to uncover her recently deceased husband Owen’s (Evan Jonigkeit) disturbing secrets.
London-born Hall is an actress I have always been a fan of and this is probably the finest turn of her varied career thus far.
She’s in just about every scene and the pain, anger, sadness and bewilderment pours out of her during a masterclass in external and internal emotions.
Director David Bruckner follows up The Signal and The Ritual with another flick that has much more to it than you initially expect.
What begins as a story of grief and Beth’s biggest worry being Owen’s possible extramarital affair develops into a sinister trip that places Beth in the sights of much greater dangers.
Avoid spoilers before viewing The Night House as there are quite a few genuine shocks that embody the final third with suffocating terror.
Truthfully, the finale might be a turn too much for some but Bruckner and his writers do such a fine job of investing us in Beth’s plight that I was with their creative vision all the way.
Bruckner wonderfully uses shadows and strangely shaped objects to make Beth - and the audience - question whether she is alone in certain scenes.
The introduction of blood red lighting to key latter moments is an inspired choice too as it lends an otherworldly atmosphere to Beth’s environment being rocked.
Hall does carry almost all of the movie’s weight but there is good supporting work from Sarah Goldberg ( Claire ), Vondie Curtis-Hall ( Mel ) and Stacy Martin (Madelyne), while Jonigkeit ups the climax’s creepy quota.
Bruckner is a very exciting voice in the thriller-horror genre and after helming his best film yet with The Night House , I’m really looking forward to seeing what he does with the Hellraiser reboot.
● What are your thoughts on The Night House? Pop me an email at ian.bunting@reachplc.com and I will pass on your comments - and any movie or TV show recommendations you have - to your fellow readers.
Emma McAllister got in touch to say: “If you like horror that’s tongue-in-cheek and an easy watch to kill an hour-and-a-half, then I would recommend Choose or Die on Netflix.”
● The Night House is screening now on Amazon Prime Video.
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