The Night House
SEARCHLIGHTIt seems that a majority of horror films coming out nowadays are about tackling grief. The genre has often reflected on the loss of a loved one, since death is one of few things that connect every human being. With his long-delayed latest film, The Night House, David Bruckner dives into the short-term consequences of processing grief following a suicide. Rebecca Hall plays Beth, a recent widow who is unable to come to grips as to why her husband ended his life on a boat near their lake house. The spiral of self-doubt, fear, and regret that she falls into is all too familiar to anyone who has lived similar experiences. The same question keeps popping up around her from friends and co-workers: did she know he was in such a state of anguish and torment? Did he ever show signs of depression? Did he leave any final notes?
The Night House is undeniably intriguing and deeply compelling in its first half. Hall has always been a formidable and underrated performer, with her 2016 turn as Christine Chubbuck being one of the most haunting portrayals of depression in recent memory, and here she carries the entire film on her shoulders. As she wanders around her house at night, catching glimpses of silhouettes and dark figures moving around the place, she sells all of the scares in a way that instantly grips viewers. With those around her, she puts on a stoic façade, as if she got instantly over her husband’s untimely demise, yet his absence is felt in every moment she is left alone. It is one of those rare instances where an actor elevates a film to new heights.
What is first an exploration of grief slowly turns into a mystery, a look back on a relationship that was full of secrets, playing with the constant doubt that spouses have of one another. This is when The Night House becomes more fascinating as it slowly embraces its nightmarish atmosphere to play with mirror worlds and dreams, showing great prowess behind the camera, with a reliance on clever framing and practical – over digital – effects. The use of digital film grain gives an extra layer of timelessness to the story, making the texture of Hall’s house feel richer than it already is thanks to the meticulous production design.
As fun and full of surprises as the film’s second half is, it is unfortunate that it almost entirely undoes all of the themes that were built up during the first hour. It becomes clear that Bruckner and screenwriters Luke Piotrowski and Ben Collins are less interested in bringing audiences into the bottomless abyss of the darkness humans are capable of and would much rather go bananas with an admittedly fun twist on haunted house scares. This makes for a climax that, while inventive, does not stick to the landing in both a narrative and thematic way. The Night House works rather well as a standalone piece of horror entertainment, but it does not expand on its themes of grief and depression in any way, ultimately making for a beautifully hollow experience. It does hold promise for what this group of writers and director will deliver with the upcoming Hellraiser reboot, as they are likely to have more fun in a purely fantastical and gory setting than the more subdued nature of this film.