Movie Review: "The House" (2022)

We have all been in the position where we need something to play on Netflix in the background whilst we get on with some other task. As I was walking back and forth tot he dishwasher to empty and refill, I decided to put on this weird cartoon black comedy movie called The House (2022). An anthology-style film about the lives of three different types and groups of people living in this mysterious bad-luck house, this film touches on some strange, dark and more than often ironic topics to do with poverty, helping people out and empathy. There is always a price to pay in the end. With two darker stories and one that lightens things up a bit, this has got to be one of my most interesting finds this year in the realms of Netflix.

The first story is about a small family who live in poverty and have some really snooty richer relatives over who do nothing but insult them. After some time and a weird trip in the night, the father comes back having secured a deal for a big mansion to be built for free on their land with the only condition being that the small, poor family live there. Unfortunately though, once they start living there, things begin to change around the house. The parents become richer in their dress sense and eating habits and slowly, begin to forget that they even have children. As things slip into madness, there is Thomas the actor who is seen crying in one scene with many bottles of wine that have been emptied by drinking. After a while, we see the family descend into a kind of madness as the house begins to change everything about them - even the baby starts randomly talking in the midst of it all. A message about how material items can change people, this part of the anthology makes for great viewing.

The second one is set in the same house, but in a different era. It stars a cast of anthropomorphic animal characters, most of whom are rats. The story goes like this: a rat has spent his whole life on this house as his project in order to show it off to wealthier animals and sell it. All the while, he keeps seeing strange insects coming out of the walls, out of the cupboards and everywhere he looks. They seem like they have been there forever and so, he looks up how to remove them. The page tells him some strange stuff about bewaring 'fur beetles'. Ironically, none of the bugs in the house have fur on them. However, the characters who turn up to view the house all have fur on them. And then, there are these characters who state their interest in the house and squat there. Eventually, hell begins to break looser and looser until it ultimately overflows. It has probably the darkest and most disturbing ending out of all three parts of the anthology. I mean when you understand what has happened, it is really quite dark.

The final episode is set around cats, one of which runs the house as a set of apartments where the other cats have fled because of the flood that seems to have wiped out the planet. There are two cats left named Elias and Jen who live under the roof of Rosa, a pretty pissed off cat because she can't afford anything due to the rent her friends don't pay. After trying to kick these people out, Rosa must learnt he value of friendship over the house because, if she fails to do so, she knows the house will consume her because of her love for it. Rosa's journey is a harsh one which is both helped and hindered by the boyfriend of Jen, aptly named Cosmos - he travels the world on a small boat and arrives at Rosa's front door with a circus tent and some weird poetic words. This one is a bit lighter and nicer than the other two, which is a perfect way to end the show.

In conclusion, I have to say that I was surprised that this was so good due to the fact it was a weird animation. I liked the way the stories were both darkly comic and yet oddly horrifying. I hope to watch it again some time in order to really get a good look at the symbolism that might be hiding within.