His House follows a couple, Bol (Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku), seeking refuge in England from their home in war torn South Sudan. The glimpses of the horrors they faced are brief, but incredibly impactful. But that doesn’t mean the journey escaping is any less treacherous. A boating accident led to the loss of their daughter. Once they do finally get taken out of the detention center, and given a home courtesy of their case worker, Mark (Matt Smith), who – along with his co-workers – definitely doesn’t fall short in throwing numerous microaggressions at the couple. Things take a turn for the strange as their new home seems to contain some kind of evil presence.
Like many great horror movies, His House sets up an atmosphere that is horrifying even before the supernatural elements come into play. The looks into their life in South Sudan is incredibly harrowing, and in no way surprising to see them wanting to escape it. Yet, even in escaping one situation, they find themselves in a place that is already hostile towards them, just in less violent ways. From the condescending tone taken by the people in charge of their case to apathy coming from some of the residents who live nearby.
The nature of the entity that seems to have taken hold of their house is kept vague, and purposefully so. More is revealed as the film goes on, and the way Remi Weekes traverses the narrative is often surprising and subversive to one’s expectations. I won’t get into detail about what the big answers are, I’ll let you discover that yourself, but I will say I like how the filmmakers had the characters confront it in a different way. Rial seems to adjust to the circumstances while Bol is more unwilling to face the horrors until they decide to get their creep on in dead of night.
The scares in this are solid, especially for a filmmaker on his feature debut. I particularly liked the way Weekes plays with lighting and shadows, a figure barely visible in the distance, or a hand reaching out from pitch black darkness, it’s incredibly striking work. There are some dream sequences as well where the film plays with color and space, and they are appropriately surreal. But it never goes weird for the sake of weird, it all feels rooted in our characters. The film is also light on blood and gore, if that’s something you’re sensitive to.
Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù and Wunmi Mosaku are both terrific. They might not be household names just yet, but they are definitely on the way. Both have curiously enough made a huge impressions on TV this year. Dìrísù was one of the leads on Gangs Of London (which is thoroughly awesome), and Mosaku was a major supporting player in Lovecraft Country (which is also very good, but her character does kinda get the short shrift towards the end of the season). Speaking in both English and Dinka, they handle the material really well, both in the real world horrors and the supernatural, and they have a really good, believable dynamic as a couple struggling with past trauma.
His House keeps things fairly tight with a runtime that goes just a little over 90 minutes. There’s hardly a moment wasted, and most of what the film explores and touches on has a decent payoff. I was surprised by the emotion that is was able to evoke, especially by the end when harsh truths are revealed, adding a more complicated and more interesting dynamic to the story as a whole. Remi Weekes takes a bold yet sensitive approach in telling a story about refugees, a perspective that I think we could really use more of. It doesn’t provide easy answers, but it doesn’t need to. It makes a strong impression, and it delivers an experience that brings a relevant twist on the classic haunted house story.
His House is now available to stream on Netflix.