His House (2020)

I'm always looking for a different twist on the horror genre and here is a good one. African asylum seekers in Britain get housed in a haunted social housing property. The leads are just brilliant and utterly convincing as a married couple who have literally been to hell and back. Remi Weekes, the director, has a very sure hand with horror and breathes some fresh life into the haunted house/demonic posession/witchcraft genre. A very small cast, a disconcerting and claustrophobic atmosphere and winning leads make an original and fresh movie. It starts very creepily and builds the tension throughout although the end was a little heavy on the virtue signalling.

Fmovies: If you're a fan of in-your-face horror, this film is deeply psychological and not for you. Although politics lay the foundation for the story, the story itself isn't really about immigration. I think sometimes people see minorities in horror films and automatically think it's about racism or prejudice. To be blunt, there's no political message in film. It's well crafted and allows you to draw your own opinions. See it for yourself.

The horror genre is filled with junk, so it comes as a pleasant surprise when you run into a gem, and His House is very much a gem. I don't wanna give too much away, but the story is about African immigrants who escape their war torn country to settle in a dilapidated house in the UK, and from there bad things start to happen.

There is so much depth to this movie that a few words just don't give it justice, what's more is you genuinely feel for the main characters of the movie. The scares? Let's say this one is just downright creepy, coupled with some excellent angles that really make the movie crawl under your skin.

Great great watch!

His House fmovies. This movie was amazing. There are so many metaphorical meanings behind the film and it was interesting to see what happens at the end. The fact that the story of refugees was told is amazing because you hardly hear those stories. Let alone see it in horror films. The scary moments were actually scary, there were elements I've never seen in any movie, etc. The actors all embodied their roles well. Great Job, Remi

The horrors that asylum-seekers have to put themselves through when meshed with a haunted house storyline is what we get in Netflix's His House. Bol (Dirisu) and Rial (Mosaku) are refugees fleeing their war-torn country of Sudan; they brave bullets, rough waters, and even lose their daughter as they finally arrive in Britain where they're granted probational asylum. They're temporarily moved into a shabby, crumbling house in the London suburbs, and that's when the past begins to haunt them.

His House is a pretty strong directorial debut from Remi Weekes, who has also written the screenplay. It may just be a 93-minute film, however, His House manages to dive equal parts deep into the struggles of immigrants as well as survivor guilt. While Bol tries to blend in with the new surroundings (he sings football anthems at bars, changes his attire, and prefers to use tables while eating), Rial holds firmly onto their culture (she wears their daughter's necklace, dresses in vibrant colors, and sits on the floor while eating).

The scares, the greatest thing about horror films, are well-conceived. Weeks mixes jumpscares with more atmosphere-heavy ones in an effort to keep viewers on edge. Practical and visual effects are put to solid use in these sequences, though some fare better than others. A little inspiration has been drawn from films like The Conjuring and Lights Out, in a good way. Weekes, through some effective crafting that blur the lines between fantasy and reality, elevates His House beyond the conventional haunted house movie.

Not everything works though. The final act switches horror for a somewhat predictable twist, and while the closing frames make for a powerful set of metaphors, it feels slightly sketchy from a closure standpoint. The performances are good for a film that revolves mostly around two (or three, if you include the beast) characters - Dirisu and Mosaku showcasing credible, lived-in feats.

It starts well, midway you think it's following a standard horror movie course, but stick with it! Very well done. Terrific ending!