“His House” stands out from scare pack
Remi Weekes comes from a mixed background himself, he says, and he grew up in the United Kingdom surrounded by first-, second- and third- generation immigrants.
All of that greatly informs the writer- director’s feature debut, “His House” — a different kind of haunted- house story landing on Netflix several months after debuting in January at the Sundance Film Festival.
Making his two protagonists a husband and wife who flee wartorn South Sudan and end up in an unidentified spot in England allows him an avenue to shed light on what it can be like for some such refugees. His film paints a difficult existence for those seeking asylum in the U. K., if that existence isn’t fraught with the immediate danger faced in the place from which they have escaped.
And yet, at its core, “His House” IS a haunted- house story, and you can’t accuse Weekes of forgetting about the scares. The entertaining BBC Films production is packed with them — creepy, crawly and outright terrifying moments.
It’s no coincidence Netflix is putting this movie out the Friday of Halloween weekend.
“His House” begins with Boi ( Sope Dirisu), Rial ( Wunmi Mosaku) and the younger Nyagak ( Malaika Wakoli- Abigaba), who carries a doll, crowding with other aspiring asylum seekers into a truck and then a boat.
Sadly, the journey on the water is treacherous, and Nyagak is among a number of people lost in the dark of night after falling out of the boat.
What we are shown here actually proves to be a memory haunting Boi as he sleeps. Upon waking, Rial asks him about the subject of his obviously traumatic dream.
“Our wedding day,” he jokes. “Explains the screams,” she says.
In England and overwhelmed by the experience and their loss, Boi and Rial are only too happy to agree with the country’s strict rules as they seek asylum.
While they must live only on the small sum the government gives them — earning or acquiring anything beyond that is forbidden — and try to integrate in the neighborhood while not hosting guests themselves, the rule most pertinent to this tale is they must stay in the house lent to them by the government.
Their case worker, Mark
( Matt Smith of “The Crown”), introduces them to their new space. It is strangely large for two people in this circumstance, they are told, and it is in a majorleague state of disrepair.
Upon entering it, Boi flips open a pizza box to reveal a couple of slices and many, many bugs. Not great.
It isn’t long before the truly strange- and- scary occurrences begin, however. After hearing sounds beyond a wall, Boi is almost relieved when a bird flies out of a hole in it.
Soon, though, those sounds are screams. And Boi discovers another hole, revealed when a sheet of wallpaper falls from the plaster. In the opening dangles a rope, which, as Boi pulls, becomes covered in seaweed and ultimately brings forth a doll.
It gets only worse for Boi from there.
Things aren’t much better for Rial, who spends most of her time alone in the home and also experiences the seemingly supernatural. And when she ventures out and gets lost, she is chastised by teenagers for being an immigrant.
To make matters worse, a disagreement over how best to proceed with the now- terrorfilled lives drives a wedge between them.
Working from a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables, Weekes soon enough tells us who or what is tormenting the couple and, a bit later, why they are being tormented.
The flashback that clues us into the reason is the film’s only real weak point. While the situation Weekes is capturing is chaotic in nature, his inexperience shows in the sequence’s key moment being too hard to follow on one viewing. Julia Bloch could have helped him out with better editing but doesn’t.
While not spectacular, “His House” overall holds the interests — thanks in no small part to the strong performances of Dirisu (“Gangs of London”) and Mosaku (“Lovecraft Country”) — and boasts an ending at least a bit more satisfying than the average horror flick.
Clearly, Weekes is a filmmaker to watch going forward.
That his debut stands out in such a crowded genre is truly something. And aside from the aforementioned sequence, “His House” is rather technically impressive in the way it goes about earning its frights.
Plus, there’s an artistic touch to “His House” that should not go without mention.
It may be asking too much, but you wish Weekes had just a bit more to say about the immigrant experience with this piece. That said, there are metaphors to be seen if you wish to see them, and a second viewing may reveal a deeper commentary than you are able to unearth in one viewing.
That is if you’re brave enough to watch “His House” again.