Bluray Brings the Fright in THE NIGHT HOUSE

 

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Bluray and DVD from director David Bruckner and Searchlight Pictures comes the story of grief and mystery in THE NIGHT HOUSE.

Beth (Rebecca Hall) is a young woman dealing with the death of her husband Owen (Evan Jonigkeit). Keeping an eye on her is neighbor Mel (Vondie Curtis-Hall) and friend Claire (Sarah Goldberg) as they see she is not doing well.

Drinking a bit heavy, Beth starts to notice bizarre sounds and happenings around the house Owen built for them. On his cell phone she notices a photograph but is not sure if it is a picture of her and begins to question things Owen may be have been doing. As she starts packing up his books and clothes, she finds odd books about the occult.

She also notices something odd on the other side of the lake only to discover that there is more to Owen’s life than she knew. That’s when message begin to appear and a voice that clearly reaches out to her.

Now she must decide what is real and what is due to the pain of losing her love.

Hall as Beth is dealing with her husbands’ death her own way which includes alcohol and an attitude. Not sure what she wants to do from day to day, it is those moments of loneliness that what is in the house reaches out to her. Hall is awesome when she is at her most sarcastic and even better when she tackles what you can not see in front of her.

Curtis-Hall as neighbor Mel just wants to look out for Beth in any way he can. That’s difficult to do at times as Beth is becoming darker as the days go by. It is fantastic to see Curtis-Hall on the screen again. Goldberg as friend Claire tries to get Beth out of the house but as her friend tells her what is going on in the house, Claire seems more willing to believe that its alcohol than anything else.

Other cast include Stacy Martin as Madelyn, David Abeles as Gary, Christina Jackson as Heather, Patrick Klein as Rob, and Samantha Buck as Becky.

Searchlight Pictures is responsible for such films as SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, 12 YEARS A SLAVE, THE SHAPE OF WATER and THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING MISSOURI. They have an extensive film library as well as documentaries, scripted series, and limited series. For more information, please visit www.searchlightpictures.com.

Bonus Feature includes: What Happens at the Lake House – Take a deep dive with director David Bruckner and the cast to unearth the secrets of The Night House. From the design of the mind-bending set, to Rebecca Hall’s haunted performance, witness how this chilling mystery was brought to life.

THE NIGHT HOUSE is a creepy film that will keep you staring at the screen wondering ‘did I see what I think I saw?’. The storyline reminds me a bit of the 1999 film STIR OF ECHOES, the 2002 film WHAT LIES BENEATH and a dash of the 2002 film DRAGONFLY.

There are some pretty awesome effects in the film that keep the creepy factor on high alert. For me, the problem becomes the last ten minutes of the film. It had the potential to take us to a higher height but instead it seemed like director Bruckner took a safe and predictable route.

Now, that being said, I did enjoy the film and Hall takes it all the way home. From start to finish she gives us all the motions someone who loses a love would go through. I suppose my favorite scene is in the classroom (that’s all you get) because I was a cheer leader to Hall’s attitude the whole way.

Shout out to Jonigkeit as Owen because even though his role was ‘small’, it is important in piecing together what Hall’s character is going through. As the story between Beth and Owen starts to click together, it also makes Beth’s life fall apart even more. Well done to both actors!

In the end – the mystery is going deeper than she could ever have imagined!

 

 

YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT Jumps onto Bluray

Jeri Jacquin

Coming to Digital and DVD this week from writer/director David Koepp, Blumhouse and Universal Pictures Home Entertainment comes a story of vacationing fear when YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT.

Theo (Kevin Bacon) is a man married to his young actress wife Susanna (Amanda Seyfried) and they share the very young Ella (Avery Essex). Dealing with his emotions of the past, he visits the set where Susanna only to have more pressure to be a good and supportive husband. This is especially difficult since the topic of people not liking Theo comes up.

He convinces Susanna that they need some time together before she heads for an 8 week shoot in London. That is when they drive up to a huge vacation home in Wales. It is spacious and minimalist in its furnishing, but the family is enchanted by the house and the surrounding grounds. But beauty can be deceiving…

…as Ella begins to see shadows. The next day Susanna and Ella talk a walk and the young girl asked the question she probably should not have, "why do people not like Daddy?" and the story is unraveled before her. Theo is furious that she subjected their daughter to the story, but Ella makes it clear she loves her father.

Theo goes to the grocery store where a shopkeeper questions him about their stay at the house. He finds the questions strange. It gets stranger when a woman asks him if he is spoken to the owner Stetler. Trying to chalk it up to the area, Theo has a dream that night that the house is changing, and that Ella is in harm’s way.

Trying to keep it together, the final straw is discovering that Susanna is not being honest with him and she leaves for the evening. Theo and Ella find ways to keep themselves amused and that is when he begins to suspect that the house has a bigger story to tell. Instead, the house turns against Theo with strange twists and turns making it impossible to leave.

What it wants from him might be more than he can take.

Bacon as Theo does an excellent job as an insecure husband mixed with a supernatural. One of my favorite films he has done is the 1990 FLATLINERS and the 1999 STIR OF ECHOES. As Theo, Bacon's character delves into a life before Susanna and Ella and the strain of his own insecurities. The scene between Bacon and young Ella is something to have tissue for which is unexpected for a suspense/supernatural thriller.

Seyfried as Susanna is a young actress who finds herself taking roles that cause conflict between she and husband Theo. Seyfried seems concerned about her husband but also shuts herself away a bit when Theo can't seem to control his insecurities. She pulls her weight in the film but does not get to get her hands dirty.

Essex as Ella is absolutely stunning! She is smart, doesn't miss much, has a bit of a wild streak but also sees that her father is struggling, oh, and has her own issues with the house. This young actress is powerful and gives her little self a resilience that her parents should have taken a lesson from.

Other cast include Colin Blumenau as the Shopkeeper, Lowri Richards as the town Welsh Woman, Joshua Jackson as Susanna’s Production Assistant and Eli Powers as Susann's Assistant.

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment has just added an amazing film to their library and making it available for us to all experience and re-experience in our own home theaters. There are films of every genre available from scary to drama to family films. For more of what they have to offer please visit www.uphe.com.

YOU SHOULD HAVE LEFT is a mind-bending story with some jumps that got me easily. Okay, I did holler once but I am sure you will holler even more. It is a cast of 2 1/2 that carry the film and they do it well. As the story starts to unfold it is a tad bit predictable but none the less fun to watch.

Might I suggest watching it in the dark as I did, you will get the full effect that is pretty cool, especially on a Friday night. Living in the times we are, it is cool to have a movie night at home and scary movies happen to be our favorite.

Don't turn away from the screen or you will miss the small pieces of the larger supernatural puzzle.

In the end – the house finds you!

RELIC

Jeri Jacquin

Coming from IFC Midnight on VOD and writer/director Natalie Erika James is the story of a family history that all begins with looking for a RELIC.

Kay (Emily Mortimer) is having to rush to her mother Edna’s (Robyn Nevin) home when it is discovered that she is missing. Along with daughter Sam (Bella Heathcote), they arrive at Edna’s home to find that there are things falling apart. Looking for clues it becomes clear that dementia might be playing a large part in the struggle to find her.

Just as quick as she disappears, Edna returns but has nothing to say about where she has been. Kay can not seem to reach her on this point, but Edna does enjoy listening Sam. As the days go by, Kay and Sam both experience Edna’s violent outbursts yet Sam has decided that she wants to stay on with Sam once Kay leaves.

Not knowing what else to do, Kay begins to suspect that there is something in the house, something malevolent, something that wants to hurt them all. The women must come together to fight against what ever it is that has taken hold of the house.

Mortimer as Kay is a woman who clearly wants to find her mother and then go home. There is an obvious rift between them with hostility that they both only tap on. There is no way they could possibly know that the underlying issues are feeding into what ever it is that is taking over the family home. Mortimer also gives us the performance of a mother with a daughter who has the same strong will as her own mother.

Heathcote as Sam has issues with Kay and does just about anything she can to irritate her. Now this mother-daughter pair has problems that they also do not tap into. So now the circle of women not talking is complete. When Sam decides to continue to live with Edna, it feeds even more into the darkness of the house.

Nevin as Edna, and I have to say this, creeped me out totally. What a stunning ability to stare in a way that you know there isn’t any good that is going to come from her character. That being said, there is one scene between Nevin and Mortimer that is the most frightening thing but at the same time it is the most moving. Just well done all around.

IFC Films is a leading distributor of quality talent-driven independent films. Some of the company’s successes include BOYHOOD, FRANCES HA, MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING, Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, TOUCHING THE VOID, CHE, TINY FURNITURE and CARLOS. For more information on films from IFC please visit www.ifcfilms.com.

RELIC is a suspenseful and creepy film that has underlying tones of three generations of women who just can’t get past their own issues. The story is slow in its telling but oh what an uphill ride of eeriness and tragedy until it reaches a peak and just when you think it will be a swift ride down the haunted rails – the story continues to be slow until it’s done with the viewer. Leading up to a crescendo that brings a mixture of horror and reconciliation based on that very same horror.

The story being told may start out as a horror film but looking deeper one has to wonder which is the horror – what lives in the house or the three women with their own secrets that are equally as frightening. This is a film that 2020 will be remembered for.

The cinematography is the fourth “person” in the film bringing the home into focus as the gritty old house filled with both good and bad memories. What a beautiful way to bring RELIC all into focus in such a way that it is a cool place that I would never want to live.

RELIC is a great escape and I intend to see it again. This is a sofa-blanket-popcorn-lights-out film that will keep your heart thumping.

In the end – everything decays!