In THE NIGHT HOUSE, A widow begins to uncover her recently deceased husband’s disturbing secrets.
The Night House suffers from an inability to make me care. From the unnecessary plot points to the muddled explanation of said plot points; this one just didn’t find its footing. I wanted classic, scary, ghost story. Or at least a mystery thriller I could sink my teeth into. All I got was a confusing character and an unbelievable conclusion. But maybe you will like it.
We meet Beth (Rebecca Hall) as she is returning from her husband Owen’s funeral. She is trying to come to terms with his sudden death while dealing with well meaning friends and co-workers. As we learn the details of his demise Beth begins to experience eerie, paranormal events. What we – and she – are not clear on is if this is all in her head or a classic case of emotional exhaustion. Either way there are some spooky things going on.
As the film progresses we are offered some random clues and insights into the events that led up to Owen’s death. Individually some of them would have made a very solid and suspenseful journey. But together they just never fit. Owen was up to no good but his actions are never clearly explained and what we do get just makes no sense. Even as it is explained in detail in the final few minutes I was left shaking my head and pondering the past 90-minutes trying to figure out how that all happened.
I am a fan of the film’s star Rebecca Hall. She is an actress capable of bringing multi layers to characters; especially ones under emotional strain. She does a wonderful job in this one as we watch Beth become more and more angry, confused, and a tad unhinged. There is one scene in particular where she is called on to do a very odd interaction. As awkward and strange as it was I give her points for giving it her all. She puts it all out there and for that I applaud her. You will know the scene I am talking about the moment it happens.
I think I would have liked this film a lot more had the ending not been so unbelievable. The concept as a whole was pretty cool. But the explanation and the journey to get there is what was lacking. The “what if” was fantastic. The unfolding events are what lets it all down.
THE NIGHT HOUSE is rated R for for some violence/disturbing images, and language including some sexual references. There are a few jump scares and oh crap moments but to call this a scary movie or horror film is a leap. Sci-Fi thriller? Maybe. I can only give it 2 stars. If you see it on one of your streaming services in the future it is worth a watch. Just go in low.
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