Whether or not you are good people, it's not me that needs convincing

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Top 50 Movies of 2020...

#37 : His House

Impressive horror about a husband and wife from South Sudan seeking asylum who try to settle in a nondescript British neighbourhood, only to find their living quarters appear to be haunted by a spirit from their past lives.

I liked this film before I'd even started watching it - because it was 1 hour and 33 minutes long.  Which is a blessed relief from the last two films, I can tell you.  However, I can't say I wasn't concerned by the words "impressive horror" above - that suggests I'm going to be a bit scared by it and, being the snowflake that I am, I generally don't like such things.  Having said that, I was intrigued to see how the old "haunted house" genre could really be done in such a way as to be impressive.

And to start with you're definitely thinking "OK, this is fine - but is it really doing anything that hasn't been done a million times before?".  The film also doubles down on the horror stereotypes by having a creepy doll in the creepy house, which did somewhat make my eyes roll.  However, using asylum seekers as the focus is an original enough idea and it amplifies the whole "fish out of water" thing that generally aids such films (you would have to say that they appear to be managing to buy an awful lot on their £74 a week though).  

However, about half way into the film, the story goes somewhere you don't see coming, ramping up both the dramatic tension and the horror and really drawing you in in a very satisfying manner.  And then, all of a sudden, it's over - it certainly couldn't be accused of outstaying its welcome and I could have quite easily had another half an hour of it (look at me complaining about a film being too short!).  However, having said that, you don't feel short-changed in the slightest - it has a very satisfying and well thought-out ending (no spoilers though!)

The film is a well put-together effort - with impressive and interesting use of colour, light, textures and sounds to increase the level of uneasiness.  There are also some fine horror effects on what can't have been the hugest budget.  It compares and contrasts the cultures well - the house and the estate are an impressively terrible shithole and the way it's kept anonymous is also well done - you believe you could be on the outskirts of any town (ok - probably not Bath or Cheltenham).

It's also well acted - I didn't recognise either of the leads (Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Diriso) whilst watching it, but it turns out I've seen them both in a few things which just shows how they inhabit the parts well and they totally carry the film.  It's also somewhat randomly got Matt Smith in it who looks like he's having a tremendously fun time with a small but important role.

Wow, Wikipedia has the following comment on the film - "On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 100% based on 112 reviews".  Well, that's a bit impressive isn't it?!?  IMDB also has the following comment on one of the writer's pages which made me chuckle - "She is not BBC Cymru's political editor, although that does sound like a really great job" - I can only assume she shares the same name!

Overall, I'd say this is indeed an "impressive horror" - and whilst there are definite horror elements, there's so much more to it than that.  If I had any experience in such things, I'd describe it as an impressive study in the effects of trauma and guilt, however that's not really something I can accurately claim (but it sounds good, right?)  It's the director's debut feature length film and he and everyone else involved should be massively proud of what they've achieved here - I was impressed with what I watched and thoroughly enjoyed it.

At the time of writing, the film is available on Netflix and, in my opinion, is well worth investing 90 minutes of your time in.

#38 - A very charming film
#36 - A film based on a very old play.  Older than me even!