Fear of the unknown is a common but powerful tool used in horror. When done properly, a film can create a palpable sense of tension. What’s around that corner? Is that the shape of a person? Even if nothing appears in the scene, a talented director can keep your eyes peeled to make you think you saw something. Even the anticipation is terrifying. The Night House is a film that plays with anticipation and stretches it as far as it can go. Though it demonstrates a calm, steady hand in atmosphere from director David Bruckner, the plot of the film is always in fear of falling apart.
Unfolding a Mystery, Driven by Obsession
As The Night House begins, we are already thrown into Beth’s (Rebecca Hall) sleepless nights. She hears noises in the house. She sees footprints by the dock. Already, there’s something wrong, and we’re not quite sure if they are real or imagined. Even though a few lines of dialogue give us the necessary plot exposition, the wordless storytelling conveys so much information: Beth is reeling from her husband’s (Evan Jonigkeit) sudden suicide. Every night, alone in their lakeside house, Beth senses a presence roaming around the hallways and begins to unravel a dark rabbit hole of secrets kept by her husband.
Half of the film plays like something out of David Fincher’s Zodiac, where the story lives inside the head of its protagonist as she gets closer and closer to the truth. It seems like every step Beth takes leads to a new disturbing revelation. She looks through her husband’s floor plans of their house and finds bizarre drawings where the floor plans are reversed. She looks through her husband’s phone and finds pictures of several women who look a lot like her. This mystery plotline is the main thread that gives The Night House forward momentum.
Meanwhile, every night, the presence in her home seems to become more and more malevolent, but with Bruckner’s direction, which carries a mix of Mike Flanagan and Darren Aronofsky, the film makes you second guess what is real and what is Beth’s mind on the verge of collapse. You will be asking yourself “What the hell is going on?” throughout half of the film’s runtime, and the film is more than happy to keep you in the dark about it, at least until the very end.
Mystery Thriller or Supernatural Horror?
The Night House is both gripping and frustrating in how it tells its story, because it wants to be two movies at once; a mystery thriller and a supernatural horror. The other problem is the script by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski seems to be more interested in the mystery plot, while Bruckner is more interested in directing the supernatural plot.
Separately, these two narrative threads are fun, scary, and intriguing to follow. However, when the film reaches its climax and finally reveals its cards on the table, the threads don’t converge well and I am still unsure if the logic of it all adds up. Anything that could be criticized as contrived or vague or misleading can be shrugged off as a component of the film’s horror elements being used as metaphors for something deeper – think of what Mr. Babadook symbolized in The Babadook, or what Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem represented in Mother.
What does work at the end of the day is both these narratives come together on a thematic level, in that they both unravel Beth’s grief and trauma-like rooms in a maze. In the supporting cast sits Sarah Goldberg and Vondie Curtis-Hall as the concerned best friend and neighbor characters, who are always out on the lookout to make sure Beth is okay and not alone. And with Beth constantly shutting herself out and digging deeper into her husband’s mystery, the story unfolds like a story of depression with a horror twist. Though plenty of things go bump in the night, The Night House is, in a good way, remarkably similar to Hall’s previous attempt at this subject, Christine. Once again, Hall shows she’s one of the best actresses working today, capable of showing a wide range of conflicted emotions and channeling Beth’s grief and depression into an obsessive journey for answers.
Even though the finale does not entirely make sense from a plot point of view, it all builds to a powerful ending that is both haunting and emotionally satisfying.
The Night House: All In For Hall and Bruckner
The things that will stick with you long after The Night House ends are Hall’s performance and Bruckner’s talent at making you uncomfortable with any form of negative space. From a production standpoint, the film is incredibly efficient and simple. Like its title suggests, the house itself is a big hero and selling point for the atmosphere; any corner can suddenly appear menacing, and it all comes down to how you look at the image.
Credit needs to also be given to the cinematography and sound design, especially the latter, for The Night House is a kaleidoscope of creaks and whispers. It also has one of the most unsettling jump scares in recent memory. Even if you end up frustrated at the plot being vague, you will acknowledge the film’s power in keeping you disturbed and never letting go of its grip.
Have you seen The Night House? What did you think? Let us know in the comments below!
The Night House will be released in theaters on August 20, 2021. For all international release dates, see here!
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