The Night House

Starring: Rebecca Hall, Evan Jonigkeit, Sarah Goldberg, Stacy Martin, Vondie Curtis-Hall

Director: David Bruckner

Teacher Beth (Hall) is still reeling from the recent unexpected suicide by her loving and devoted husband Owen (Jonigkeit). When she isn’t trying to distract herself with work, she attempts to find solace at the bottom of a bottle. Soon, she begins having strange dreams where something or someone seems to be trying to contact her. Her dreams lead her to discover a photo of a woman who is not her that is on Owen's phone. As she investigates, she discovers the husband she thought she knew may not be who she thought he was.

This one caught me off guard and the trailer didn’t really do much to sell me on the film. It is being marketed as a game changer for the horror genre and while I wouldn’t necessarily go that far, this ended up being far more emotionally satisfying than I was expecting. In that regard, it is a game changer.

Rebecca Hall is incredible here. Horror films don’t get a lot of recognition for awards but her nuanced, haunting, and incredibly realistic portrayal of grief is Oscar worthy. An early scene with a parent who comes in to discuss her child’s grade is very affecting and doesn’t go the way you or the parent are expecting it to go. The supporting cast is excellent but this is Halls’ show and she effortlessly carries the film.

It has taken me a long time to come around to horror. When the genre just resorts to cheap jump scares, it doesn’t work for me. But when the genre taps into something real or keeps things grounded psychologically it can really work. And that is the case here. Grief is a common theme in horror but writers Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski have written an effective take that honestly left me in tears at the end. And just when you think you have things figured out, the script will throw a clever curve ball at you. A lot of credit goes to director David Bruckner as well, whose stylish direction keeps the tension high and pacing tight. If you like this, he directed a fantastic horror film for Netflix called The Ritual that you should definitely give a chance.

This has sleeper hit written all over it. Come for the tension and stay for one of the more emotionally satisfying horror films I can remember, anchored by an awards worthy performance.

Grade: A