Before writing a review I always ask myself two questions. Was I entertained for the entire movie? Was it well made? I have to answer yes on those two questions for The Night House. The story is slow paced but it has a constant intriguing plot that keeps you wondering what is happening. It's not one of those movies you figure out everything from the beginning. There aren't really scary moments, not even jump scares but there's some good suspense and mystery. The acting wasn't bad at all so nothing bad to write about that either. In this genre The Night House is definitely worth a watch.
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deloudelouvain15 November 2021
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FeastMode8 February 2022Well-made psychological horror flick with a great performance by Rebecca Hall. It can be considered a slow burn but I was fully invested and never bored. Very atmospheric. Lots of beautiful shots. Some effective scares. Great movie overall and I would definitely watch it again. (1 viewing, 2/7/2022)
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A_Different_Drummer15 October 2021First there is Hall who, until now, has been punching below her weight class and finally gets to show she can carry a film. A tight script, nicely directed. And some genuinely scary scenes.
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johannes2000-121 September 2021For the first hour of the movie I was very much intrigued by this slowly but effectively unfolding story, getting more and more bewildered, just like main character Beth, by the weird and scary goings-on. The photography is great, and beside a nice sinister atmosphere, there are multiple jump-scares to keep you on the edge of your chair. Rebecca Hall carries the whole movie admirably, she's totally convincing, first as the grieved and forlorn widow of a husband that out of the blue committed suicide, subsequently as the exasperated woman who thinks she's losing her mind. She's not trying to win our sympathy with her aggrieved and angry behavior and her heavy drinking, but you do team up with her when her world turns upside down on her.
Unfortunately in the last half hour, when you expect that all loose ends finally will come together, the story went totally overboard, every other new thing that Beth finds out about her husband only made the narrative get more and more incomprehensible, and at last the weirdness and confusion escalated into a conclusion that was really too mind-boggling, at least for my simple brain.
But maybe expecting some logic in a supernatural ghost story is a bit naive anyway. -
Xstal5 October 2021... Frightening, Unnerving, Nightmares! The widow of a shock suicide is haunted by dreams and reality from the past, and the present. A towering performance by Rebecca Hall makes all the difference in a story that will leave you scratching your head and your chin but for all the right reasons.
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songod-9500312 October 2021Said "CALL THE POLICE" about 15 times during this film.
Finding the bodies of lord known how many people in the unfinished house Owen was secretly building (how did he get away with that?) was one major police moment. Frankly I kept waiting for her to report this but she never did! Protecting hubby or writer laziness?
I dislike open endings. I think it is the epitome of sloth for the writer and or the director to leave the audience in a state of wtf. Considering so much of this film took place in a "dream state", a dose of clarity was required. -
emgotm31 October 2021If you like supernatural / psychological thrillers with give it a try. Nice Elements of the movie:
>Creepy, nice, dark atmosphere.
>Solid performances.
>Beautiful cinematography.
>Camera optical illusions (set up carefully in order to define "nothing-ness").
Spoilers follow! A complete explanation guide:
Beth dies for 4 minutes when she was 17 and she sees nothing in the other side. That "nothing-ness" (that she experienced) was expecting to get her life.
Think of that "nothing-ness" as the Spirit of Death (SoD from now on) or the Death or something similar (SoD: "I am what you felt when your heart stopped").
But SoD was tricked by Beth since she managed to recover. Now, it wants to reclaim her life back and comes after her (SoD's Main Objective). But since Beth is NOT the believer-type, SoD cannot interact directly with her.
Quite soon Beth marries Owen (Heather: "You were married young!") Owen is a believer-type, so SoD establishes a channel with Owen in order to get Beth's life.
Owen starts to sleepwalk (Beth: "A year or two after building our house...") and having weird dreams in which SoD demands from him to end Beth's life.
Owen tries through occult arts to protect Beth. Reading "Caerdroia" he discovers in chapter "Decoys and Deception" a way to trick SoD ("People have sought remedies to threats posed by evil...")
Such trick can be done via "Voodoo dolls at gravesites near to those afflicted... activated by contact with the intended recipient... mazes and reversed spaces to confuse dark forces".
So Owen starts his plan "... by distorting the identity (i.e. Other women looking like Beth) and location (i.e. Other house like Beth's house) of the subject, pursuing spirits could be tricked by false forms of sacrifice."
His plan is to trick SoD by sacrificing a woman looking like Beth in a reversed place looking like his house, as he read in "Caerdroia".
Owen builts secretly that house like the one he and Beth lives, but in a reversed architecture (blueprints are discovered by Beth).
He makes the voodoo doll, puts the related spell and puts it in the secret house. Then he meets women looking like Beth and he brings them to the secret house. He makes them touch the voodoo doll (i.e. Activates the channel between SoD and the woman) and he chokes them as offering to SoD.
SoD is tricked but when it finds out it did not get Beth's life, it presses again Owen. Owen meets another woman like Beth, and that loop goes on for 6 times (Beth: "... half a dozen"). Thus SoD is tricked for a while (Beth: "He tricked you!", SoD: "For a while... he thought he could protect you").
At the end Owen having guilts does not kill Madelyne, the girl in the bookstore (Madelyne: "he was shaking and crying") who has been left with tender feelings and has not understood anything evil.
Aware that SoD cannot hurt directly Beth, Owen kills himself and leaves behind the known note. "You are right. There is nothing. Nothing is after you. You are safe now."
Note means: There is really that "nothing-ness" that you experienced when you died (i.e. The SoD) and it is after you. But now you are safe because I die, so there will be no channel existing between SoD and you (it's like saying "there is no way for you to be hurt onwards").
But unfortunately that channel is established since Beth discovers and touches the voodoo doll, although she remains a non-believer-type (you can see that during the conversation she has with Madelyne in Beth's house).
SoD now can interact with her physically (touch her) and has all the potential needed to make her kill herself.
Beth tricks SoD once again in the boat and does not kill herself. But SoD is there and we know as the movie ends that SoD will do anything till it gets Beth's life.
_____ Hope that is clear for people who did not understand some points in the movie. -
jruffs-4049725 August 2021I hate it when people write reviews and are like "it was so predictable" it instantly puts people off a movie that could otherwise have some brilliant features, The Night House happens to be one of those films.
There's one line in the film, referring to the main characters past which instantly gives away the films plot and ending, and the pieces of the story fit the bill so nicely that it's impossible to not understand the series of events which led to this part of the widows tale (i think that's ambiguous enough to avoid spoilers).
So anyway, since Hollywood is incapable of creating anything new, they should at least make things well, in the case of The Night House they truly did, it is extremely atmospheric, in fact I'd easily call it "Eerie" as Hell, I really was on the edge of my seat in parts in particular the bathroom mirror scene, a mirror scene which is completely unlike all other horror movie mirror scenes was really tense and I was legitimately uncomfortable in my seat.
I'd recommend watching if you appreciate an atmospheric horror as I do with good performances, just don't expect a Christopher Nolan mind game. -
themadcamel25 August 2021Good pace, Brilliantly acted, and above all intense and genuinely creepy......
But,
And this is where it looses me...
Being Vague isn't intelligent.
So many films these days just skip over that little part where it all comes together. Where the plot thickens. They avoid massive plot holes And just look the other way.
There are whole scenes in this movie that have absolutely nothing to do with anything, they are only there to be scary and mysterious, but don't further the plot or are even explained in anyway.
It's A Mystery if the Writer clearly has no idea how to end it?
Would "Seven" have been a better film if we never found out "Whats in The Box"?
Anticlimactic
Leaving the viewer to fill in the voids is lazy storytelling.
Rant over. -
george.schmidt17 September 2021THE NIGHT HOUSE (2021) *** Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Vondie Curtis-Hall, Evan Jonigkeit, Stacy Martin. Compelling supernatural drama about a recently widowed woman (Hall in a remarkable performance) who begins to question her sanity when she begins to make discoveries of her late husband's past as well as their home which seems to house a sinister presence. Well directed by David Bruckner with just the amount of dread and genuine jolts thanks also to a shrewd screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowsk. The pin-pricking score by Ben Lovett & handsomely shot cinematography by Elisha Christian makes all the difference in this modern day ghost story.
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isaacdeer20 August 2021Not bad: Going in with little expectations of this movie was a good thing for me. It kept my attention for the entire 1:48. The concept was well put together. A couple of things I thought could've been better..
The demon was vocalized way more than it should have been which took away from the overall creepiness of the character, in my opinion. I thought the demon should've been more paranormal than it was (it made Owen's character soft). Also, the sound was BRUTAL. The one jump scare (you know what I am talking about) was just super long and obnoxious.
On a positive note, I really bought in on the quiet-blank scenes that focused in on the little visual effects that distracted me from the storm that was about to unfold. Felt other worldly. Overall, not a bad movie. -
The_nibs7 October 2021This review is for people who either have seen the movie or don't care to and want the gist.
A formerly depressed protagonist has just lost her husband to suicide. She continues to live in their shared home and witnesses paranormal activity (or maybe it's just a dream, who knows). She has a very dreary view on life and death because she once clinically died for four minutes and felt "nothing" which depressed her terribly. She believes her depression made her husband depressed and caused his suicide. Later she determines he has lead a secret life sleeping with women who look like her, in a house he built to look like the reverse of their's. Weird. Then later still, she determines he has murdered those women. In a fit of despair she begs the ghost she believes to be her husband to come to her and comfort her in her time of need (one would imagine this is the last thing anyone would actually want... He was murdering women who looked like the protagonist after all... So yeah, that's different). The ghost actually turns out to be a demonic entity which was the "nothing" that the protagonist faced when she clinically died. It is massively butthurt that she survived, even though it's apparently been years or something since the accident. It decides to possess the protagonist's husband in a bid to get her killed so that the Nothing can reclaim her. The husband tricks the Nothing by killing women that look like his wife in the reverse house. Apparently the Nothing is stupid and couldn't tell the difference between houses or women, even after like twenty women are killed. Eventually the husband kills himself to protect his wife... But the Nothing gains control over her anyways and convinces her to almost kill herself.
Think for a moment: The Nothing manages to possess her, beat her to an inch of her life and, not force her, but almost convince her to kill herself.
So the Nothing literally didn't need the husband AT ALL.
The actress was great and the suspense was good, until the story became terribly flawed and stupid. I would've preferred she discovered his double life was really weird and creepy and leave it at that. I honestly thought she was going to find the house with corpses and one victim left alive, and that the house would be booby trapped, or like some intricate maze, filled with puzzles, where she has to rescue the last victim. But no, we got this. As soon as ghosts entered the equation I knew it was downhill from therein. It only gets five stars for the actress and the funky "The Haunting" (1999) style distorting house effects, which is always fun to look at. -
CinemaClown10 October 2021With a dreadful, disquieting atmosphere pervading its frames and a dark, disturbing mystery simmering beneath the surface, The Night House makes for a gripping, haunting & gradually escalating psychological horror with a plot that only gets more uneasy & uncomfortable as it progresses, and is powerfully anchored by Rebecca Hall's emotionally engrossing showcase.
Directed by David Bruckner (The Ritual), the story explores loss, grief, depression, loneliness, death & longing through vehicles of horror and is able to keep us invested in the proceedings throughout its runtime with surprising ease. Bruckner fills the space with an unnerving chill & sense of dread and unravels the mystery one step at a time but the ending isn't as satisfying as expected.
The isolated setting, silent camerawork, steady pace & smart editing help ratchet the tension when required while the poignant score keeps reminding us of the crushing weight of the void that's opened up in our protagonist's life in the wake of her husband's demise. And rendering her loss & depression with unfailing precision is Rebecca Hall in what's undoubtedly amongst her career-best performances.
Overall, The Night House is an intelligently crafted, skilfully told, effectively shot & brilliantly acted genre offering that quietly immerses the viewers into its unsettling premise and has a firm grip on our emotions before we even know it. Exhibiting first-rate work on all fronts and further bolstered by Hall's committed act, this atmospheric horror does falter in the last act but everything before it is intense & riveting. Don't miss it. -
Top_Dawg_Critic23 June 2023It's like the two writers - one depressed with grief of loss, and the other with serial-killer tendencies, each wrote a life-story screenplay, and mended them together. Either story may have barely worked on it's own, but combining both, then labeling this film as a supernatural psychological horror film and thinking the viewer can come up with their own interpretation, is just convoluted nonsense with lazy, cliched and uninspiring writing.
All this story did for this film is combine watching paint dry and watching grass grow - together it may sound interesting, but in fact, either or and especially both, is boring. Trying to say this film is a metaphor about grief and loss is a far stretch with all her husbands secret hobbies. Then trying to imply building a reverse home would solve the problem is more infantile writing than anything. This nonsense is neither a ghost story or a metaphor for grief. It's a fantasy project riddled with plot holes that failed to deliver the goods whilst trying to convince the viewer the film is smarter than the viewer, and does nothing to elevate itself above genre conventions. Rarely have I seen a film in which simply everything demands clarification.
Based on the films narrative, why not just simply go visit a witch doctor or exorcist? And if it's depression, there's a doctor and meds for that. It's all just a bunch of convoluted nonsense masking itself as an intelligent story, that ultimately wastes an outstanding performance from Rebecca Hall, as well as decent directing from Bruckner and his jump-scares, and spot-on cinematography and score. The slow pacing didn't help the longer-feeling 107 min runtime, nor did the unremarkable and disappointing ending that never really comes to fruition and left me frustrated by the end. With a better and more creative writing team, Hall's performance could've made for a truly great film. But as is, it's a generous 6/10 from me, mostly all of it going to Hall's incredible performance, albeit a waste of her talents. -
BandSAboutMovies26 October 2021The Night House may not be perfect, but it takes some chances and has a nice puzzle at its heart that makes sense the further you go into the movie. It fits nearly into that sub-genre of a genre, the giallo where a woman is either gaslighting herself, being gaslit or going slowly insane (for more, see Footprints on the Moon, The Perfume of the Lady in Black, The Psychic and Lizard In a Woman's Skin).
It also would work well within the seventies style of film - Let's Scare Jessica to Death is a high mark, but it shoots for it - where things happen slowly and then the end races you through the conclusion. Once the puzzle box is opened, things get wild in a hurry.
I first took notice of Rebecca Hall in Christine, a movie I didn't like but loved her in it. She anchors this movie and makes it work, often through the sheer determination of her commitment to the activities around her. Sure, she's dealing with the suicide death of her husband, but she's also pushing against the ridiculousness of it all, such as students pushing for better grades and fellow teachers wanting to know details but too ashamed to ask. Some of it becomes humor to her. And yet, so much more of it is horror, as a mirror house seems to exist in the woods by her home.
Her husband's phone keeps texting and calling her. Music randomly blares. Dreams are filled with his image and voice. And when she finds his phone, she finds pictures of women who are not her, but look exactly like she does.
The sound design is incredible. The editing is perfect. The effects and the way they work hand-in-hand with the cinematography is what others films should aspire to. And the plotting and the maze it leads you down can be forgiven when it loses its way sometimes, because unlike the glut of Blumhouse dreck, this movie will not overly explain itself to you. And that ending, as the two houses come together and time gets played backward? Wow.
The more I think about this movie, the more I like it. I'm used to being let down by endings and modern horror falling apart by the end. This one hits the landing and effortlessly brings in a very human story of grief without hammering home its point and remembering that at heart, this is a horror movie, and horror movies are supposed to scare us, not just preach at us.
Director David Bruckner is going to be making the new Hellraiser and if this is any indication, that movie is going to be interesting. -
Pjtaylor-96-1380447 November 2021'The Night House (2020)' is, frankly, just a bit uninteresting. It isn't exactly boring, per se, but it certainly isn't all that compelling, either. It's, essentially, saved by a handful of effective and somewhat distinct sequences, alongside a confident central performance and some solid cinematography. The mystery at the movie's core is occasionally intriguing, but its answers - and some of the steps taken to reveal them - are generally disappointing. The ending, in particular, is rather anticlimactic. To be honest, it doesn't really finish anything off, even though it does reveal most of the narrative's secrets. This doesn't feel as though it was done on purpose; it's almost the opposite of something like the thematically resonant cliffhanger that finishes off 'Halloween (1978)', for example. There are some inventive visuals and some intriguing ideas, don't get me wrong. It's intermittently entertaining. Ultimately, though, it's just a bit underwhelming. There isn't really a proper theme and none of it is actually scary. It's a decent effort, but not much more. 6/10.
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jfgibson7321 November 2021This movie got under my skin. I am sure that a lot of people who watch it will have some major issues with how some things are handled. I wasn't 100% happy with all the choices the filmmakers made. It feels like some of the reveals could have had more of an impact if they were handled differently. However, I felt that overall, it was very effective at building and maintaining suspense. It is rare to find a scary movie that actually makes you feel something, but this one kept me anxious much of the time. I liked the lead performance, also. Even though I thought the main character did some unlikeable things, I appreciated that she didn't react to everything with typical horror movie stupidity. So for me, this film stands out. I don't know that it is one I will enjoy watching back, but as a first viewing, I enjoyed the experience.
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85122230 November 2021Greetings from Lithuania.
"The Night House" (2020) was a very solid story solidly told. I liked the overall idea - it kinda reminded of some past movies (no spoilers), but it still was fresh and intriguing. Execution was also very solid - at running time 1 h 45 min this movie never dragged and i was caught in this mysterious spooky story from beginning till the very end. Also this just might be Rebecca Hall's one of the very best performances ever - she carries the whole story.
Overall, "The Night House" isn't a horror fest, but it was spooky and overall mood was pretty haunting. When everything was revealed i did appreciate the story - it was intriguing, kinda fresh and very well told. Very solid movie. -
pacocharte6 October 2021To the reviewers who claimed that scenes were left in with no purpose, what?
Very professionally done. No stupid jump scares, but not exactly scary 90% of the run-time. The director used a very effective and creepy effect 3X and it worked in each instance, but by the third one I was like OK, we already know what's gonna happen here - nothing.
Really liked this one - kept me captivated until the end but coulda been a little more tied up. Did the hubby do what we were led to believe he did? Did the wifey really see the evidence? If so why didn't she call the cops right away?
The ending didn't ruin it for me like it did others, but I can see why it was frustrating. No resolution in this kind of film equals blah. 6.5 rounded to 7 and I can promise you that it's at least worth a few bucks to watch (not $14.99 like Amazon is charging now). -
They took so long getting to the reveal that the ending feels completely rushed and does not provide crucial information that would have given more context to what was going on. (The "bathroom scene") did not play with the rest of the movie and was so outlandish that it completely pulled me out of the movie. She is being thrown against a wall with a mirror, so he must have some power, but still doesn't kill her, The same gun that was used by her husband and was returned (presumably loaded?) by the police?!! The audience leaves confused about what happened, why it happened, or even how it happened. "Nothing" suspended Beth in the position like the statue she found? But he couldn't kill her?? I couldn't understand why after she found the dead bodies she went back home and took a shower and still wanting to see her husband after she found out he murder a lot of women. This movie make no sense.
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bob-the-movie-man23 August 2021Positives:
- Of the different movie genres, comedy and horror are probably the ones that polarise opinion the most. One person's meat is another's fowl. But I have to say that this movie officially creeped me out. I was extremely tense for just about the whole 107 minute running time. Much of this is down to Rebecca Hall, who is just SUPERB in this. She brilliantly portrays a woman on the edge, her impassive character breaking every so often into an "everything's fine" sarcastic smile. I know that the Academy tend not to nominate actors for Oscars for 'frivolous' films, but this genuinely, to me, felt like an Oscar-nomination-worthy performance.
- I've talked before in my blog about the overuse of 'jump scares' in horror films and the law of diminishing returns. This film doles them out very sparingly indeed. There are two notable ones (one spoiled by the trailer!) but - man - the first of these had me levitating off the seat!
- The script is very vague indeed about where you end up in this movie. (I've tried to do a synopsis of what I *think* happened in a "Sp0iler section" in my blog). The script deliciously muddies the waters between dreams and reality; sanity and madness; sobriety and drunkenness; with the real-life Madelyn (Stacy Martin) bringing you up short at times with an "oh - so that bit must by reality then"!
Negatives:- The ending. I'm not sure how I wanted it to end. But it felt wholly anti-climactic.
Summary Thoughts on "The Night House": London-born Rebecca Hall seems to have a "leisurely" output as an actress, but she really deserves more prominence in the industry. (If you've not seen it yet, watch her outstanding performance in "Christine" as another proof point). Here she magnificently holds the movie together.
Effective horror films for me are those on the tense psychological side rather than the mindless slasher variety. This point was well made by Tom Shone in his review in "The Sunday Times", describing it as a "middle-aged kind of horror movie!". "The Night House" delivered those mental chills for me in spades. There is actually very little gore in this one. But it certainly had me thinking about it when I woke up in the middle of the night last night. Was that a noise downstairs??
If you like your scary films, then this one is highly recommended.
(For my full graphical review, please check out onemannsmovies on the web, Facebook and Tiktok. Thanks). -
Thanos_Alfie10 October 2021"The Night House" is a mystery Mystery - Horror movie in which we watch a widow trying to continue her life after the loss of his husband. Soon she starts finding out some disturbing secrets about her husband that will change her world for ever.
I liked this movie because it had a very interesting plot and it combined very well mystery with horror. The interpretation of Rebecca Hall who played as Beth was simply outstanding and she made the difference. The direction which was made by David Bruckner was also very good and he presented very well his main character, her feelings and what she has been through. Finally, I have to say that "The Night House" is a nice, interesting horror movie and I strongly recommend everyone to watch it because I am sure that you will be amazed both by the interpretation of Rebecca Hall and by the interesting and mysterious plot. -
martlarrivee7 October 2021The movie has a strong start and nice tensions, I was sold. But by the time we reach the end sequence, the movie goes full metaphysical, with very "on the nose" explanations and Invisible Man vibes... totally threw me off. When a ghost needs to explain the full story to you, there's a problem. There was little left to the imagination and it really fell short to end the story in a compelling manner.
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laurhartwick14 February 2022My husband and I like to watch a lesser known thriller or horror for a low-key mindless movie night. We usually go into it with low expectations and a "we can turn it off if it's that bad" idea. Every once and awhile we find one that's actually good and I'd say The Night House was one.
I've seen a few reviews saying it's not scary at all but I found it pretty scary!
Rebecca Hall was destined to be the heroine in a horror movie. She also brought a unique sense of humor to her role, which was quite a sad one. She was perfect.
The movie in general is not perfect, there were a few parts left unclear to me, but it was a good Saturday night movie that kept us very intrigued. -
Yeah so this movie has a lot of well done dramatic tension and build up until the one hour mark. It estabilishes well the protagonist's personality and why, despite the house showing her weird things, she decides to remain in it and unravel the secrets of her dead husband's hidden life. It's all very believable until she discovers dead bodies by accident below an adjacent cabin's floor. Any sane person would flee the house and call the cops. However, for the sake of the plot, our protagonist chooses to go back inside the main house, leave a message on her friend's phone and goes for a relaxing shower. Man, i couldn'l help myself laughing out loud at this point as it completely took me out of the bleak atmosphere the movie was up until then proposing. The movie deals with loss, letting go, unhealthy attachments and dementia, but since so many suspense/horror movies have done this, The Night House had to rely on story telling and performances to differentiate itself from the crowd. Performances are overall good, however, the third act doesn't live up to the well built tension of the first hour, concluding in a forgettable uninspired note.