There haven’t been too many horror films that are actually scary, but The Night House certainly delivers on that front while also being a devastating and thought-provoking psychological thriller. Directed by David Bruckner from a script by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, The Night House is grounded by an excellent performance from Rebecca Hall, whose shaken, resolute portrayal raises the stakes and adds a tremendous amount of depth to an already strong script. The film is replete with emotional explorations of grief and mental health; it also thoroughly terrifies through sound, visuals, and a proper buildup.
The film follows Beth (Hall), a teacher who was recently widowed after her husband Owen (Evan Jonigkeit) died by suicide. Grieving and trying to make sense of what happened because she had no inkling he was having suicidal thoughts, Beth begins to discover she may not have known her husband as well as she thought she did. Her heightened sadness is compounded by the fact there may be a presence haunting her and the lake house home she shared with Owen as the lines between reality and her nightmares begin to bleed together.
The Night House is genuinely terrifying, serving up scares by employing abrupt (and very loud) sounds and gruesomely horrific images, lucid dream sequences that blur the lines of reality, and the rising feeling of unease. The combination of these things make for one of the best horror films in recent memory, with the story settling organically between the supernatural and the natural, including deep, nuanced, and quite trippy explorations of death, grief, and depression. To that end, the film offers a good amount of clues as to what’s going on while also leaving its revelations open to various interpretations. Is Beth being haunted by something sinister, is she facing the effects of insurmountable grief or, as is alluded to several times, experiencing symptoms of depression? There is no sure answer (though one is clearer than the others) and it is within the story’s various layers and concepts that it will bury itself and linger on one’s mind long after it ends.
While the final act of the film has a couple of missteps when bringing certain storylines together, The Night House marries the elements of the psychological with the horror to create something rather emotionally devastating, eerie, and wonderfully profound. The film is greatly elevated by an outstanding, nuanced performance by Rebecca Hall. As the grieving widow, Hall plays Beth in a way that doesn’t ascribe to the clichés of such a role. The actress, who always gives superb performances, portrays Beth as a measured, angry, heartbroken, and unsure woman whose devastation over her husband’s death is balanced with her need to find answers to explain something she can’t quite come to grips with. In certain instances, Hall offers a shaky, sardonic laugh that makes those around Beth recoil with discomfort. They don’t know how to treat her and she isn’t acting the way they think she probably should when it comes to her grief. To that end, the audience is also meant to feel rattled and unsettled by this and Hall’s performance doesn’t hold back in that regard.
That’s just one of the great, revelatory things about The Night House. It goes all-in: it’s visceral, focused, resonant, poignant, and horrific in every way that it can be. The tension builds slowly, but the swift pacing doesn’t let the story dawdle and the mystery, as tantalizing as it is, doesn’t overshadow Beth’s character development or her arc. The conclusions she comes to by the end, as well as the supernatural elements of the story, meld together in a thoroughly captivating manner that is as emotionally effective as it is disconcerting and scary. In addition to Hall, Sarah Goldberg, who plays Beth's friend Claire, gives an excellent performance, steadying Beth as she falters; Vondie Curtis-Hall's portrayal of the well-meaning neighbor who knows his own share of secrets is also worth noting.
There are so many aspects that seem straightforward at first, but the supernatural parts of the film are a gripping metaphor for depression, suicide (which may be triggering for some), and grief as they both reverberate throughout. And as dreams become reality, The Night House strikes with the full weight of Beth’s amplified, and multilayered emotions. The film’s sound echoes, shakes, and terrifies alongside its disturbing, haunting visuals. The film doesn’t come together fully in the end, but the lack of clarity and questions it leaves behind pave the way for discussions to be had. Uplifted by an incredible central performance by Hall, The Night House twists and turns, weaving terrifying visuals and jump-scares with thought-provoking and emotional story beats. The result makes for one of the best horror-thrillers of the year.
The Night House is playing in theaters as of August 20, 2021. The film is 112 minutes long and is rated R for some violence/disturbing images, and language including some sexual references.
