Rebecca Hall will star this summer in “Resurrection” (Aug. 5), and she’s already set a high bar for herself in psychological horror with “The Night House” (2021, now on HBO Max). She plays Beth, whose titular home seemingly becomes haunted after the shocking suicide of her husband, Owen (Evan Jonigkeit).
Crazy person or crazy world?
Under the skilled keystrokes of Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski, “The Night House” is a particularly great entry in the horror subgenre that asks if the female lead is crazy or if she’s a sane person in a crazy world.
It raises fascinating questions within its own plot. At the same time, it’s a smart metaphorical portrait of depression, with editor David Marks and cinematographer Elisha Christian pulling neat style tricks to emphasize the theme, particularly in the gripping final act.
“The Night House” (2021)
Director: David Bruckner
Writers: Ben Collins, Luke Piotrowski
Stars: Rebecca Hall, Sarah Goldberg, Vondie Curtis-Hall
Director David Bruckner (“The Ritual”) makes good use of two key characters. One is of course Beth, a schoolteacher. Her husband must’ve been a very successful architect or constructor, as Beth projects somewhat of an entitled rich vibe. Hall isn’t afraid to make Beth unlikable, like when she passively aggressively scolds a parent who is reasonably asking about her son’s assignment.
The grieving Beth is short with her teacher friends, and with her kind neighbor (Sarah Goldberg and Vondie Curtis-Hall give warm turns as folks who care about Beth). But her situation is so bizarre that a viewer forgives the bad behavior.
Haunted house or haunted occupant?
The second key “character” is the titular abode, which I can imagine is cute and cozy when inhabited by a happy couple, but which becomes sinister when Beth is alone. Bruckner and his team make nice use of shadows that look like the shape of a person, but upon closer inspection are not.
“The Night House” has a magnetic mystery where new questions spring from each answer as Beth digs into Owen’s secret life. Beth suffers from depression, so did that somehow rub off on the happy Owen? No, it doesn’t work that way. Did he cheat on her? Evidence points that way, but it doesn’t match with what Beth knows of him.
Collins and Piotrowski (who will team up again on the new “Hellraiser” this year) wrap the mystery in a shell of psychological and metaphysical horror. They raise spooky questions about the afterlife without invoking religion.
‘Night House’ or ‘Soho’?
“The Night House” calls to mind another of my favorites from last year, “Last Night in Soho.” Both films blend a sympathetic lead with the “What’s really going on?” question with visual style – all the while remembering it’s a scare flick at its core.
But no matter how talented the crew is, it’s doubtful “The Night House” would succeed without Hall carrying the weight, something Thomasin McKenzie doesn’t have to do in “Soho” because Anya Taylor-Joy helps out. (They make a great tag team.)
It’s a tough call as to which film is better. “Soho’s” style is tastier; “The Night House’s” is a more traditional moodiness, evoking dark waters and shady lakeside trails along with the house itself. But “The Night House” is the more grounded tale.
Even when it flirts with the supernatural, it’s foremost about Beth’s struggles with unanswered questions and a level of depression that goes beyond the tragedy and into the realm of brain wiring. I don’t totally like Beth, but I understand her, and I’m with her throughout her wild journey in “The Night House.”
I think we can trust Hall to have a similar impact on “Resurrection.”