Netflix's new horror movie shows us that no matter how much we can run away, fears will always be with us... "His House".
On October 30th, Netflix released a film which is without a doubt their best original production of October; a film based on the story created by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables, directed and written by Remi Weekes, who with this film was making his debut as a director of a feature film and tells us the story of two refugees from South Sudan and their struggle to escape from that place in war, and then try to adjust their new life in an abandoned home in London, but their new home may not be completely uninhabited, there will be something in it that will make their old experiences and fears minimal in relation to the terror they will experience.
"His House", for me is one of the best films I've seen so far this year, it's a small but very well produced, directed, written and acted film, it's a terrifying story of people who lived in the terror of a war and trying to escape their fears it seems that they are destined to suffer because they will have to face what they may or may not understand in order to start a new life; This as a synopsis may be a bit trite in this genre of terror, but there is always something original that can create something different and that is what we find in this film due to the simplicity and strength of the story of its main characters that we can find similarities in the many situations that people live as refugees and this despite the supernatural terror that is important in this story is added to the real terror of facing a new world where you will always be tested.
I have not seen any of the previous works of Remi Weekes, but his way of developing this story full of very beautiful and artistic images is excellent and I can say that he has made an intelligent story by creating a special space for the development of the scenes of terror and that in spite of the small budget, but the important thing is that the importance he gives to each of the main characters, the refugee couple and the house, A first act where we see the struggle of this couple to leave South Sudan, a second act where "The House" is present and a final one where there is a struggle without truce or allies, is something that I liked very much because it does not minimize anyone, everything is important and is very well written and directed and to be his first work as a director in a feature film, I think I can create an excellent atmosphere between the terror and drama that people who only know the war and now must face a different terror.
The performances are very good by their two protagonists, Wunmi Mosaku as "Rial" and Sope Dirisu as "Bol", one more sad than the other, distant, not willing to change and waiting to return; another with a desire to live new experiences, trying to fit into a new community and take advantage of the many opportunities that exist, but both with a guilt that does not let them move forward and that will always raise suspicions with people who will never stop evaluating them, that is why the stress of being considered "good people" may affect their minds and be victims of the terror they are about to discover in their new home; All this is transmitted by these two good actors, they do not have full happiness, it seems that they cannot have it and I think that this is how many refugees in the world must feel, a sadness that they cannot explain because they think that nobody can understand; the terror, the sadness, the loneliness that each of these actors show in a different way when playing these characters is one of the best I have seen this year.
I have read reviews that indicate that in the end this story falls apart and I don't agree at all, for me it shows scenes of real terror and makes the film more raw and sad than it can be, I like that it is an intelligent film that is not something predictable, very influenced by other films like "Evil Dead " or "The VVitch ", but without a doubt I think that the story of "Rial" and "Bol" is the best part of this film, it is sad, strong and I think it is even universal for many people who flee from places where they know they have no future and do what is necessary to survive and that their struggles, failures and experiences will take them with them until the end of their days, but that cannot prohibit them from having a different life and that when they leave those places they also leave behind the habits of living in terror that never let that define them as people. As you can see this is not just a film about "Haunted Houses" it is much more and that makes it special, I hope you can see it and enjoy it as I have done.
