“House” Movie Review

In 2008 after much advertisement, Robby Henson’s “House” was released to the public. Starring in this film is Reynaldo Rosales, playing as an angry husband, and Heidi Dippold, who takes on the role of his wife. This horror film is set in the 21st century and takes place inside an old, creepy Victorian house in the middle of the woods in a small Alabaman town. This movie is unlike any other movie of its kind as it questions the viewer’s moral and spiritual beliefs, and perhaps brushes lightly into the true depth of man’s sanity. Robby Henson’s “House” is a truly remarkable film that is destined to be watched over and over again by the world.

Jack [Rosales] and Stephanie [Dippold] Singleton are an unstable couple on a long car ride, and given bad directions by a local police officer. In turn, Jack accidentally runs over a spike strip and wrecks the car in the middle of the night in pouring rain. Anxious to escape from the wet wreckage, they quickly spot the Wayside Inn and check in for the night. While there, they meet another couple by the names of Randy and Leslie who claim to have been in a very similar car accident. After meeting the mysterious and strict owners of the Inn, their emotions seem to be triggered –all their negative emotions at least. As they are finishing dinner, a strange noise is heard from outside and the guests and owners go to check it out. As they open the door, a cloaked man stands in the yard and stares at them savagely. He then throws them a small tin can that reads:

Welcome To My House.

House Rules:
1.
God came into my house and I killed him.
2.
I will kill anyone who comes into my house like I killed God.
3.
If you give me one dead body before sunrise, I might let rule #2 slide.

After receiving this warning, the couples run loose through the old house and try to escape from the killer, named the Tin Man, and their deranged hosts who try to persuade them to kill each other. Obviously there was much more than met the eye to the guests of Wayside Inn. Jack and Randy immediately discover a satanic red room with devil-worshipping symbols written on the walls, while Leslie and Stephanie are left to fight on their own. Soon after, the owners come to take revenge with a shotgun and a meat cleaver, chasing the couples farther into the insane maze of a basement when Jack stumbles upon a little girl named Suzan. Suzan claims to be the only one who has survived the Tin Man’s pursuit, so she sticks with Jack and the others to help them escape as well. Finally, after hours of an intense game of cat and mouse, the five people are captured, but what happens next will leave viewers shocked and hungry for more.

One particularly stunning aspect of House is the special effects throughout the movie. At one point, the movie shows a woman’s head stitching itself back together after being hit with a knife. It is surprisingly realistic and you can tell that there is a lot of attention to details in House. Also, in one scene, Stephanie finds herself cornered in a small closet when water starts streaming in from under the doorframe. The water does not just flow to the floor, but it climbs up the back of the door and splashes over the ceiling, surrounding a trembling Stephanie. It is extremely well put together throughout this entire scene. Afterward, they do an excellent job of making the floor under her seem to fade away and into ice, causing her to break through and into the basement.

Yet another spectacular feature of this movie is the storyline in a spiritual sense and the thought behind it all. The movie is a great horror to watch for fun, but when you look at it with a spiritual eye you see a lot more. The symbolism in House is endless, ranging from a character representing God to one being the devil. Many events and actions of the protagonists are reflections of a good versus evil archetype and the story of Jesus Christ’s death. This becomes much easier to recognize by the end of the film. Still, however, it is easy to see how the Wayside Inn owners are a representation of the devil and evilness from the very start. The three hosts use violence as a form of persuasion to get the people to turn against each other, much like the devil does in real life. Either way, there are numerous more spiritual symbols throughout this movie that are hidden deep within the walls of the Wayside Inn.

My overall reaction to this film is amazement, and I am very satisfied with the quality of the movie. The story was intense, but the plot was astonishingly simple to follow throughout the entire hour and a half. House is so suspenseful and exciting that I’m sure anybody will be impressed and love to see it!