Horror films can sometimes be difficult to get right. The mixture of scares and everyday life is tough to balance – but His House knows exactly how to work with these themes.
Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku in His House / Picture Credit: Netflix
The film follows married couple Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) and Bol (Sope Dirisu) as they arrive in England as refugees, narrowly escaping their war-damaged home.
Once in England, the couple are given a place to live, and are told there are conditions for staying there such as: they cannot look for jobs; they cannot have pets; they cannot light candles; and a whole host of other rules.
Their case worker, Mark (Matt Smith), shows them around their new home. It is rather dirty and needs some work, but the couple are of course appreciative nonetheless as Mark also gives them some food and supplies to start them off.
Despite the roof over their heads and things looking up for the pair, all is not well in the home. Separately, Rial and Bol begin to experience some very odd happenings but are reluctant to share this with each other for some time.
From then on, what we see is a combination of great writing, acting, and directing as this film shows you what life can be like for minorities, defying all odds to make it to new land and start a new life.
Horror swirls into this hard-hitting truth about the real world and it works surprisingly well. The couple went through so much to get to England, but now they hear voices and ghosts in their walls…
Due to their trauma and anxiety from their journey and life in South Sudan the pair are haunted by a very particular ghost which breaks their hearts and frightens their souls every time it appears.
This film takes a little while to get going, as we have to go through some mundane chatting to get to where we need to be – but it is worth it.
The horror aspect is done so well, with not only scares coming at the perfect moments, but the camerawork too.
In one particular scene, we see the two having dinner together, then it zooms in so we can only see Bol. The camera then zooms out slowly, but we see large cracks in the wall, the further out the camera goes the less we see, with only one section of the kitchen wall remaining, and the rest of the shot empty with orange sky and a reflective sea. It is a masterful shot and serves to show the audience inside Bol’s mind as he is slightly losing it.
The reveal of the story's twists is done wonderfully also, and as sad and heart-breaking as it is, it is important that we see it. While drawing inspiration from real issues in the real world, the film utilises the horror genre to tell the story.
It works so well as many refugees do indeed live a life of horror so to put that together for a fictional film is truly genius. The film’s aesthetics are perfect, as the pair’s home is a little torn up, they both wonder outside (separately) and Rial gets a little lost.
His House is a film worth watching just for the horror alone which is amazingly effective, playing with the idea that everyday life can be traumatising if you have been what this couple has been through, or any trauma.
The movie is also worth watching due to how interesting it is. Dreams mix into reality, visions and scares blending into the pair’s everyday life… and all this coupled with the refugee storyline is genuinely brilliant.
His House is available to watch on Netflix now!
Written by Melissa, who you can follow on Twitter @melissajournal
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