Alice Oscura – Featured Writer
His House is a British horror thriller written and directed by Remi Weekes. The film follows the story of a refugee couple who manage to escape from war-torn South Sudan to England. There they are given a chance to prove that they can adapt to British society and life by being provided with free housing and a monthly allowance while being evaluated for residency status. However, events take a sinister turn when something evil lurking in their house decides to make itself known.
Netflix has been hitting it out the park lately with these latest horror releases and His House continues that trend. The plot encompasses weighty themes such as the terrifying reality of the vicious circumstances that would cause refugees to flee their country of birth, plus dealing with our inner demons that could cause us to do horrible things when we are faced with a desperation for survival. This film is an excellent form of what Jordan Peele would call a “social thriller” along the lines of his Get Out (2017) and Us (2019). His House actually premiered earlier this year in January at the Sundance Film Festival.
The film is deeply rooted in African folklore and it manages to successfully interweave the terrors of refugee experiences with a supernatural haunting so chilly and scary that I almost climbed over the back of my sofa trying to inch my way slowly away from the screen. The leads are absolutely believable as a couple and it amazed me to see how toxic the relationship became when they were both forced to face their own demons to varying degrees.
Matt Smith (Doctor Who) plays a guy who has also been displaced by society and ends up at a job that he never cared for, but somehow meeting the Majurs seems to rekindle his faith in humanity.
The scares are super effective and the dismal grey atmosphere of London plus the rundown aspect of their flat added to the impending heaviness and sense of damnation around the couple. There are moments when we seriously begin to doubt the sanity of both husband and wife due to their powerful performances. Bol’s (Wunmi Mosaku from Lovecraft Country) eagerness to fit into British society and overlook his past traumas with Rial’s (Sope Dirisu from Black Mirror) survivor’s guilt and her unwillingness to conform.
All in all I believe that the movie is an allegory for facing your demons or ghosts because they become a part of you, good or bad. You need to accept it as a part of yourself and only then can you move on.
Alice’s Score: 7.5 out of 10
For Julien’s review of Lovecraft Country you can click here. And for more than 100 horror film reviews and lists you can check out our horror section here.
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump.
I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers’ curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. You can find me as Dark Alice Reviews on Facebook, my Instagram is alice_oscura and my Twitter handle is @lise_veliz2. For more on me you can click here.
Couldn’t agree more. Loved this, very powerful film.