A married couple from war-torn South Sudan, Bol Majur (Sope Dirisu) and Rial Majur (Wunmi Mosaku), manage to escape the dangerous life they once led, only to find themselves struggling to adapt to their new beginning in England. When the pair gain access to their new accommodation, there seems to be some evil lurking beneath the surface that rears its ugly head and begins to taunt the two refugees. A new horror based drama that has just been added to Netflix.
Director: Remi Weekes
Writers: Remi Weekes, Felicity Evans
Starring: Sope Dirisu, Wunmi Mosaku, Matt Smith
After seeing a fair amount of positive reviews for the latest Netflix release, His House, I felt this past weekend was as good a time as any to give the BBC produced flick a shot – and it turned out to be a pretty good decision.
For me, one of the primary strengths of this was the story on a whole and how it was slowly revealed to the viewer. The filmmakers decided to delve into the hot and rather controversial topic of immigration head first, covering it from various different angles as well as capturing some of the experiences that asylum seekers, such as the main characters here, go through on a daily basis. It has to be said however, that some of the scenes were awkward and uncomfortable to watch at times, and I’m not completely sure some were needed or even realistic at times.
As this rather unique and captivating story developed, the filmmakers even included flashbacks to provide a much greater context as to the events unfolding in real-time. This was more than likely the most effective part of the film and in my opinion, should have been utilised much more, with some of the flashbacks being extremely interesting and appealing, especially as many of them had an African vibe in terms of visuals.
One thing does have to be noted however – if you’re heading into His House expecting a typical horror, then you may be disappointed. To my surprise, this movie was certainly not that. There were of course, some more traditional elements of horror included, especially inside the opening half of the flick, but a large majority of the runtime seemed to focus more on the supernatural and psychological side of the genre, rather than the explosive, loud and jump scare style that many are used to.
In terms of the acting, at times it was rather rigid and a little stiff, but the pair did seem believable in the situation they found themselves in and seemed to work well enough together. Sope Dirisu adopted the role of Bol, the husband, while Wunmi Mosaku portrayed Rail, the wife. Elsewhere, and rather surprisingly, Matt Smith found himself in a support role – starring as Mark Essworth, a housing officer in charge of the asylum seekers.
Overall, not only did this film make you sit and think about what you were watching from start to finish, but it even included one or two rather unique and effective twists and turns too. His House definitely stands out over many other Netflix horror films as of late, which is why this one is certainly recommended.
“I think I might paint this room red.”
Rial Majur – His House
The DC Review Blog - EST. 2020 