‘His House’: Smart Smart, timely and — most i importantly — very scary
A young couple flee war-torn
South Sudan and, after making the perilous journey to the UK, are surprised when local social services give them a house to live in. Sure, the place is a bit of a dump, with crumbling plaster and temperamental electrics, but after the harrowing nature of their escape, Rial and Bol (Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Dìrísù) can’t believe their luck. In fact, when case worker Mark (Matt Smith) lists the conditions of their housing, he advises them to keep their heads down, fit in and make the most of this golden opportunity. The couple, Bol assures Mark, will do everything asked of them – they are two of “the good ones.” Unfortunately for the two refugees, there’s more to the ramshackle home than poor decorating and frayed wiring in this Netflix horror. And thankfully, writer/director Remi Weekes doesn’t make audiences wait half the movie before unleashing that horror. Nor does he fall back on cheap jump scares and misdirection — unlike a lot of modern horror films, the unsettling scares in “His House” come from the certainty of what viewers will see, not the possibility. As Rial and
Bol determine that the house is home to an evil spirit, Weekes lets the audience have it. We, like the main characters, learn to fear the lights going out because we know what will happen when they do. The smart script (from Felicity Evans and Toby Venables) finds the horror not only in the ghosts inside the house, but in the sometimes hostile reception to the couple when they’re outside too. Even as Bol and Rial learn how (and, in a jaw-dropping story twist, why) they’re being targeted by the spirit, they must balance their desire to flee with the knowledge that they won’t get another chance elsewhere. It’s a powerful, heady and uncomfortable subplot. Mosaku and Dìrísù are staggeringly good, with the hard choices their characters have made (and must make) written across their weary faces. “His House” is smart, timely, unnerving and — most importantly — very scary.