Parents' Guide to His House

His House is a refreshingly thoughtful and poignant horror-drama. It's refreshing because so much horror these days is lazy and cheesy, with paint(splatter)-by-number stories that all start to seem the same, or are just some idiotic "Part 87" sequel of some long worn-out franchise. In His House, the "haunted house" story is a way to explore the plight of refugees, the challenges of trying to adapt to an alien land, of trying to make a fresh start in life, of the ghosts of the past that can haunt our waking and sleeping presents. It's not an easy thing to mix the realism of a newly-arrived refugee getting lost in the streets of London while trying to find her new doctor and the magical realism of the recently dead peeking through the walls of these same refugees from the walls of where they have been sent to live. Often, blends like these are clunky and heavy-handed, but it works here.

Furthermore, unlike most horror movies where the audience is given just enough about the characters to make them likable or unlikeable enough to derive entertainment value out of their survival or brutal murder at the hands of their tormentors, the two main characters are fully developed -- human, flawed, survivors -- to the point that you want them not only to survive, but also to prosper in their new lives. The growing divide between Bol, a former banker who is determined to put his past behind him and start again in England no matter what, and Rial, a former teacher who sees the emergence of the "apeth" (witch) in their apartment as a sign to leave their strange new country, adds another layer of conflict, made all the more engaging as more and more is revealed about their relationship and their pasts. His House should be welcome viewing for those who have grown beyond weary with the phoned-in hackiness of so many horror movies these days.