House
Is
it a horror film?
Is
it a religious film?
Do
we care?
Actually, the religious aspects are pretty much disguised – only peeking out
in a few certain little plot points – before they are sprung on us with
little subtly and subtext in the over-the-top dénouement.
Is
it even a house – as suggested in the generic title?
Not
really. It may be the biggest bed and breakfast you will ever find in the
Alabama backwaters.
So
why is this movie even called House? No, this has nothing to do with
the cult-fave 1986 William Katt ghost movie House, or even the
current FOX-TV medical series House, M.D.
As
you can tell, House is more than a bit of a conceptual mess.
In
House,
two couples are stranded in the middle of nowhere when they get flat-tires
on a mysterious road (it’s not even on the maps!) through the ‘Bama
backwoods. However, the road’s got to be okay, right? That eerie policeman
gave them the short cut.
All
four wind up at The Wayside Inn – a gothic looking mansion in the middle of
nowhere that is run by a family that look like refugees from The Texas
Chainsaw Massacre.
In
the meantime the Inn is being attacked by a ghostly figure outside called
The Tin Man, who threatens to kill everyone in the place unless they murder
one person by sunrise to appease him.
Therefore the two couples get lost in the mazes of the incomprehensible
house – where they forced to face and relive their past sins to find
purification in order to last until the sunlight.
However what exactly are these characters’ sins?
Is
it a couple not being there to save their young daughter when she falls
through the ice on a frozen lake? That is tragic, sad, probably even
unnecessary (if they weren’t somewhat self-absorbed it may not have
happened) – but hardly a sin.
Is
it a teenaged girl killing an incestuous uncle in self-defense when he is
trying to rape her?
Or
is it the verbally-and-physically-abused little boy who is forced against
his will to go hunting with his sadistic father and then saves a deer by
sacrificing his dad?
Okay, that last one is a sin – but at least it is one with a somewhat
understandable motivation. Besides, it is done by an eight-year-old, who
probably doesn’t have the notions of sin and redemption too clear in his
mind yet.
Are
these really actions worthy of the physical and mental torture these two
couples must endure overnight in this oversized B&B?
The
answer is of course not, however that does not stop the filmmakers from
spewing forth fire and brimstone on the unfortunate, imperfect lodgers of
the Wayside Inn before giving some of them a chance at heavy-handed
salvation.
And
who exactly is that inscrutable (Christ-like?) curly-haired girl who
suddenly appears in the basement to help our heroes find their way?
Is
it even a mystery who it is that is doing all of this? Hint to the
filmmakers – when you only hire one recognizable actor and he disappears
after the first scene, the audience knows he’s got to show up again
eventually…
However, the biggest mystery of House is why this film – with
absolutely no sex and some extremely tame violence – was ever given an
R-rating.
Dave Strohler
Copyright ©2009 PopEntertainment.com.
All rights reserved. Posted: April 4, 2009.
