My Review of "His House"

His House is a horror movie that came out not too long ago in 2020 exclusively to Netflix. This film had a ton of potential and I really wish they'd make one with some slight changes to it. Still there was a lot of great art direction to this movie and the idea was still very interesting. I just thought it kind of fell a little flat for me.

This movie starts out with a couple on a boat. They're headed for the UK from Sudan. There's not much talk about their origins because it's later going to be talked about so we see glimpses of the struggle that they had to endure to get to the UK.

Both the husband, Bol, and the wife, Rial, have seen some things. When they finally reach the UK they are put into some sort of imprisonment area. From there they are judged to be worthy of living a life in the UK or not. Fortunately or unfortunately for them they were picked to live in a subsidized refugee home in London.

The place is a sty but it's home. The two are very happy and grateful to be able to live in London. It doesn't take too long for the couple to realize that the home that they've been provided is not what it seems. There seems to be some sort of evil spirits in the home. Due to the provisions that the immigration officers gave the couple they can't really do much but live inside this haunted house.

The movie basically really begins from there. As the mystery of the house unravels you see more and more of what the couple had to endure in order to get to where they are now. We soon learn that maybe this couple isn't as innocent as they may seem.

It's too bad how the movie ended. I thought it would have been better if it ended up as the couple not being bothered by the ghosts or spirits because they've endured far worse during the war back at home. They could have shown the worse scenario in which they used to live that made them not care how bad it could have gotten in the house.

They did have some messages though. It goes into the trials and tribulations of what people have to go through in war torn places to immigrate to another country. The couple also has to endure racism while they were in this new foreign country.

One very interesting discussion that Rial brings up is that she survived because she didn't really pick a side during the war in her country. Apparently if you identified as one side the other side would kill you so she was basically a ghost since she did not have any alliances. Funny how when she comes to the UK she's automatically identified as a foreigner so she's automatically an enemy to the country.

Another element they brought up is Bol's obsession for the couple to adapt into the UK lifestyle. He is adamant for the couple to integrate and assimilate to the new culture that they live in. It's obvious that he's very willing to rid themselves of relics from the past in order to merge into the new life they live in. I guess in a way this is okay but also it's weird how he is very disconnected to his own culture so immediately.

This is probably one of the first and only horror movies that puts an immigration twist to it. I liked this bold direction and I think that so many stories could be told in this point of view but I'm not entirely sure if the rest of the world is willing to see it.

Overall, I thought this was a great idea for a horror movie and it was quite entertaining to me. The problem is that I don't know if a lot of people can identify with these characters or storyline. There are some clever takes on the immigrant point of view. Still I think the ending kind of falters and I wish I could tell you why without spoiling it. I have to give this film a 7 out of 10. For me it was a well worth a watch movie because they're saying so many important things in such a short period of time. Unfortunately this doesn't translate to entertainment to everyone.