Newsletter

The Night House 🏠

Home Sweet Hell...

Adam Frazier

18 Aug 2021 • 2 min read

The Night House

Genre: Psychological Horror
Release Date: August 20, 2020
Running Time: 108 Minutes
Rated: R

Behind the Scenes

Directed by David Bruckner
Written by Ben Collins & Luke Piotrowski
Cinematography by Elisha Christian
Music by Ben Lovett
Studio: Searchlight Pictures

In Front of the Camera

Rebecca Hall (THE PRESTIGE, TALES FROM THE LOOP)
Sarah Goldberg (HBO’s BARRY)
Vondie Curtis-Hall (ROMEO + JULIET, NETFLIX’S DAREDEVIL)
Evan Jonigkeit (THE EMPTY MAN)

What’s It About?

“Reeling from the unexpected death of her husband, Beth (Rebecca Hall) is left alone in the lakeside home he built for her. She tries as best as she can to keep it together—but then the dreams come. Disturbing visions of a presence in the house call to her, beckoning with a ghostly allure, but the harsh light of day washes away any proof of a haunting. Against the advice of her friends, she begins digging into his belongings, yearning for answers. What she finds are secrets both strange and terrible and a mystery she is determined to resolve.” — Searchlight Pictures

Why You Should Check It Out

Directed by David Bruckner (THE RITUAL, SOUTHBOUND, V/H/S), THE NIGHT HOUSE is an expertly crafted — and deeply disturbing — psychological slow burn that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled.

Rebecca Hall (CHRISTINE) delivers an incredible performance as Beth, a woman seeking closure after her husband's suicide and, instead, finding herself at the center of a bizarre mystery. She goes through Owen’s (Evan Jonigkeit) stuff and discovers a treasure trove of weirdness: reverse floor plans for their house, books on the occult, and a clay statue of a naked woman’s body impaled with needles. And then there’s Owen’s iPhone, filled with pictures of Beth that she doesn’t remember him taking.

The screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski (SUPER DARK TIMES) is structured like a labyrinth, designed to pull the viewer deeper and deeper into a dimly lit maze in search of answers, only to find they’re trapped inside a puzzle that can’t be solved. As a result, some may find THE NIGHT HOUSE frustrating or downright underwhelming, but for me — I can’t stop thinking about it. It’s perplexing, unnerving, and ambitious, with an emotional, even primal, performance by Hall as a woman struggling with an emptiness that threatens to consume her.

If you’ve dug recent horror movies like Leigh Whannel’s THE INVISIBLE MAN or Bruckner’s previous work, THE RITUAL, you’re going to enjoy your stay at THE NIGHT HOUSE. Also, if you’re a HELLRAISER fan, this film will prime you for the upcoming remake, as it’s being helmed by Bruckner and written by Collins and Piotrowski. After seeing what the trio has done here, I can’t wait to see what they bring to Clive Barker’s signature blend of romance and horror.

Searchlight will be releasing THE NIGHT HOUSE in theaters on August 20.

Slices:

🍕🍕🍕🍕

Trailer

Subscribe to POP 'N' PIZZA so you don't miss an update!