The Night House will grab you from the get-go with its wildly original premise. Is it a haunted house story? Is it a ghost story? Well, just hang on, it will reveal itself in due time and prove to be so much more than all of the above combined.
Rebecca Hall (Godzilla vs. Kong, The BFG) stars as Beth, a newly widowed woman whose husband Owen (Evan Jonigkeit) killed himself completely out of the blue at their picturesque lakefront home in their rowboat with a gun she didn’t even know they had. This is one of those onion movies where the layers slowly, but surely, come off, and with each successive layer, something new is added. This is a horror movie, there is no question, but it is also a mystery where the who done it and why permeates every frame. Beth wants answers, so she starts digging.
What she finds leaves us wondering if she has stumbled on the most horrific of mysteries or she is losing her group on reality. In the hands of Hall, Beth may be seeing things, but she is firmly in control of her grounded thrust-upon truth. She has a caring neighbor in Mel (Vondie Curtis-Hall) who is supremely worried about her wellbeing. Not only with her current events, but everything that has occurred after the mysterious suicide death of her husband. Yet exhibited in the talent of Hall, she has a firm command over Beth. She knows what she knows and seeks out answers to validate her questions.
The British actress commands the entire cinematic experience of The Night House. As she discovers clues about her husband that are beyond shocks and downright terrifying, the narrative starts to catch fire. Even if he is only in flashbacks, through the production design of Kathrin Eder, Jonigkeit brings a quiet elusive charm that meets potential menace that is chilling. What’s more, the actor achieves such rare air without saying much at all. Screenwriters Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski have crafted a character that says so much more with his actions than his words and witnessing Hall opposite that in the past and present is a study in knowing what’s right when nobody believes you.
She is alone, even though she has friends and teacher colleagues who are both understanding, caring, and ready to check out for the summer. One, in particular, stands out. Sarah Goldberg’s Claire. She’s a fellow educator who is there for Beth in ways that we all would hope we have a friend of such mettle. But even she is not sure what her pal is experiencing. Is it loss or something more sinister and supernatural?
Her solitude is our blessing because it allows the extraordinary actresses to take us into not only her characterization but the inner workers of the mind and actions of a woman dealing with unfathomable situations coming at her like bullets days after she buried her husband, who she thought was the love of her life. A friend informs her once “everyone has secrets.” But Beth and Owen were different, as we discern from the pictures that strewn their idyllic house and to hear their compatriots describe their love affair.
Additional characters enter the picture, but there is no need to describe them for fear of taking away from the unraveling onion we’re peeling. One is left to their original immigration to figure certain things out, which may leave some audience members baffled. It may take a second viewing, but it’ll make sense. It’s a bold move that after the credits roll and time has been allotted to think about, it is worth its weight in gold.
The Night House is a horror movie told from the point of view of a spouse who learns something (or somethings) about someone that they not only thought they knew, but that would be confident calling their lifelong confidant and everything that entails. That’ll enter your conscious and subconscious. Little things start occurring. Her husband used to sleepwalk before his death.
Well, guess who’s started down that path?
The mystery lies in every ounce of this tale. From its opening moments through its final conclusion. There is no confusion, this is a horror tale through and through. But there is something more to it than that. Those are the best film experiences. Ones that dot many I’s. They are not one dimension. No one will ever accuse The Night House of being a one-trick pony. This is where Hall shines the brightest. She is a commanding figure, yet something is tearing her apart… or is it? Does she see the truth? You know what they say, “the truth shall set you free.”
Grade: B+