From director David Bruckner, the guy behind horror films V/H/S, Southbound, and The Ritual, The Night House is a 2021 psychological horror thriller, based on an original screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski.

Reeling from the unexpected death of her husband, Beth is left alone in the lakeside home he built for her. She tries as best she can to keep it together – but then nightmares come. Disturbing visions of a presence in the house calling to her, beckoning her with a ghostly allure. Against the advice of her friends, she begins digging into her husband’s belongings, yearning for answers. What she finds are secrets both strange and disturbing – a mystery she’s determined to unravel. The film stars Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg (Barry, Elementary), Vondie Curtis Hall, Evan Jonigkeit, and Stacy Martin.

The Night House released in theaters on August 20th, courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.

THE GOOD

As soon as the trailer dropped for The Night House however many months ago, I was giddy with excitement. I love a good horror film, and I am a big fan of David Bruckner’s work. He is one of those directors who still believes in the value of score and cinematography, and just overall feel when it comes to a finely crafted horror film. He also makes sure to have great acting in his films which can be rare for this genre, and I certainly appreciate that as well. It took me a bit longer to make my way over to the theater to see it, as it was more of a limited release than I originally expected. But I refused to be denied. My expectations just grew with my anticipation, and I am pleased to say that I was not let down. The storyline was engaging and thought provoking, and held my attention from start to finish. I wouldn’t say it was next level scary, but I got chills and jumped a few times I will say that. And for me, chills are always worth the price of admission.

With that being said, this isn’t your run of the mill cheesy horror film, instead it relies on real-life elements like devastating grief and loss, and how that can impact a human being. The Night House also included so many interesting “aha” moments as the story unfolded that I just couldn’t wait to talk about. After the movie ended of course, please don’t be “that guy” in the movie theater. It sort of had a Final Destination feel to it, with the underlying message being that if death has you in its crosshairs, it is only a matter of time. That in itself will make your skin crawl and instill a deep down type of fear, and the film is able to create this almost alternate reality based on that idea which was really cool, and horrifying, to experience. I was actually able to see The Night House with my movie review co-pilot Andrew, who just reviewed the highly anticipated horror Candyman (full review here), so it was nice to have the opportunity to talk about some of the themes of the film as we walked out of the theater. As big horror fans who appreciate the finer elements of filmmaking, we both seemed to have the same takeaways and were equally impressed.

One of the biggest strengths of The Night House is the acting, and Rebecca Hall is absolutely exceptional in her lead role as the troubled and recently widowed lead character Beth. A big reason why the film works so well is how believable Beth’s character and her backstory is, and that is all because of Hall. You can see the grief in her face as she portrays a woman who is beaten down emotionally and physically. You will feel for her character, and will want her to find peace somehow. Hall has a very diverse resume including a prominent role in the incredible 2010 crime thriller, The Town. She is an actress that takes full advantage of her opportunities, and she was without question the right choice for this film. I look forward to seeing more from her in the future. The supporting cast was great as well, with a fantastic role played by Sarah Goldberg, who most will recognize from the HBO series Barry, alongside Bill Hader. I also really enjoyed Vondie Curtis-Hall, who played a small yet crucial role as an empathetic neighbor with a few secrets of his own.

On the technical side of things, The Night House is near perfect. The film is highlighted by beautiful cinematography, as it was filmed at a picturesque lake house in Syracuse, NY. As soon as it starts, you will be wishing you were there, but probably not so much by the end. Just the camera work in general does such a great job of taking full advantage of the setting, and adding that much needed intimate and isolated feel that allows a horror thriller the opportunity to really unnerve viewers. The small details with the shots, utilizing shadows for effect and staying on a characters face longer than expected before transitioning to the next scene, made everything feel that much more real. I was also extremely pleased with the score for the film, which sets a very effective ominous tone throughout.

THE BAD

The Night House is a top-tier horror film, plain and simple, and I won’t budge on that. But as I have pointed out in a bunch of my previous reviews, it is impossible to please everyone and the balance can get extra tricky when you dive into the horror genre. I have been a horror fan for as long as I can remember, and over the years I have come to realize that what I consider to be scary most consider to be downright traumatizing. A prime example would be Ari Aster’s horror gem Hereditary (our full review here) from A24, anyone who says that movie isn’t scary needs to seek professional help because it is just f’ed up on another level. Another great example is Brian Bertino’s deeply disturbing horror film The Dark and the Wicked (preview and trailer here).

I bring up these examples for one basic reason, these are horror films crafted to scare you from the inside out, they don’t care about jump scares, they want you to feel something well after the movie ends, and The Night House is similar in many ways but for that same reason, it might not appeal to the jump scare/run of the mill horror audience looking for some cheap scares while they demolish a bag of delicious popcorn. The story is unique and thought provoking, but may move along a bit slow for some. It puts extra weight into character development and feel throughout the film. David Bruckner also has a certain directing style which requires you to pay extra close attention, or you will risk missing an important detail that may seem like just part of the background initially, making it so you will need to give the movie another watch to fully appreciate the nuances. So yeah, this isn’t so much a section pointing out “the bad” at all really.

THE VERDICT

David Bruckner’s The Night House is a very well-written and immersive horror film anchored by a breakout performance from lead Rebecca Hall, exploring real-life themes sure to leave its mark on viewers. Horror films are often willing to trade quality for jump scares in an effort to satisfy the masses, but that is not the case here. I feel like it is rare to say that the story and the acting is the biggest strengths of a horror film, but that is absolutely what we get with The Night House. Bruckner creates an experience that is as equally entertaining as it is terrifying, so if you consider yourself to be a horror fan, you need to see this sooner than later.