Review: "The Night House"

The Night House, at its core, is an old-fashioned horror film that can be compared to the horrors from the 70's era. It differs greatly from the recent genre fare, trading in cheap thrills or jump scares for a more personal touch. It is a much more intimate and impressive film that is not only thought-provoking but also horribly unsettling from start to finish. The Night House also features a powerhouse performance by the always solid Rebecca Hall that really rounds the film out wonderfully. Beyond what appears on screen, the work put in by director David Bruckner who also worked on another terrific horror film in The Ritual is spectacular, the way the action is framed is nothing short of stunning.

The plot follows a grieving woman named Beth (Rebecca Hall) who finds herself feeling a bit numb after her husband very unexpectedly takes his own life one morning. In the aftermath, she is stuck inside a house that he had built for them, and the unnerving question of "Why?" The numbness she feels begins to turn into anger as she begins to lash out at her late husband who showed no signs of depression, as she even points out as that was her thing. While navigating her anger, grief, and questions she is also enduring some intense nightmares. in these nightmares, she is usually home and in the presence of her husband's ghost who seems to be leading her somewhere. These nightmares begin to make her look into her husband a bit closer and question who he was as a man, much to the behest of her closest friends and her own wellbeing.

Beyond the unsettling feel throughout the movie, the biggest standout is always right in front of our face as Rebecca Hall gives a tremendous performance throughout the film as the grieving Beth. She effortlessly goes between blends of anger, grief, and confusion that capture what it can be like to be left behind by suicide and the uncertainty that it brings. A lesser actress would be comfortable allowing the haunting to do the work and progress the story but Hall elevates the film beyond just a simple story of such and delivers a performance that allows the audience to really connect with the main character and feel for them. Without her, the entire suspension of disbelief would surely dissipate. Her performance should be talked about as one of the best in a horror film. It also stands out so much more considering the fact that the film focuses so much on her to the point that other characters don't really exist in this film. Beth's friends aren't much of a part of the film as it sticks so closely to Beth and her grief and uncertainty.

The script by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski isn't horribly original and will surely remind horror fans alike of films from the '70s and even early 2000s at times but its intimate touch elevates it above so many of its peers. The final revelations can be a bit difficult to unpack to the bulk of the film and even the most eagle-eyed watchers can be a bit befuddled. It attempts to be massive in scope and loses traction a bit, but still works. The direction of Bruckner and how he uses empty corners of a house and the camera to invoke emotions in its audience is a masterful job. By doing so, he allowed the audience to fill in gaps with its own imagination. It is a tactic that most horror filmmakers forget as the less that is shown is often much more terrifying. Despite how confusing the ending can be to some, his direction of such is again wonderful to watch and even more unsettling. That, again, is the best word to use to describe this film. The sound editing in this film also helps immensely with some unsettling voices that only Beth seems to hear throughout that seem to echo in a creepy way. All of it between Hall's performance, the sound editing, and the direction by Bruckner culminates in a memorable horror film that stands out over the genre in a profound way and is easily one of the best horror films of the year.