THE NIGHT HOUSE (January 2020)

THE NIGHT HOUSE

(January 2020)

TRICK IT, DON’T LISTEN TO IT
 
In The Night House--David Bruckner’s follow-up to The Ritual--Rebecca Hall plays recently widowed Beth Parchin, whose barely bottled-up anger at the sudden and initially inexplicable death of her husband gradually erodes in the face of a dark and sinister mystery.
 
It’s a testament to the skills and talent of Bruckner and Hall, as well as the elegant screenplay by Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski (all four are also Executive Producers on this), that The Night House remains compelling and absorbing, as said mystery slowly unpacks itself over the course of the film’s running time.
 
It’s also a sneaky one, this, its largely serene and placid façade belying a cold cruelty beating at its core, the action onscreen the calm surface beneath which vicious riptides and undertows swirl.
Or, to use another apt metaphor, our eyes are drawn to the beauty of the structure, which only serves to mask the cold, blank hollows at its foundation.
 
This is quite possibly the most gently nihilistic horror film I’ve come across.
It doesn’t hold the audience’s hand, nor does it offer any comforting, yet ultimately hollow platitudes regarding existence and mortality.
 
If this sounds like the kind of horror you’re in the mood for, then by all means, please step into The Night House.
Just be sure to leave the door open, in case you decide on a hasty retreat…
 
“Makes you wonder though, doesn’t it? What else didn’t I know?”
 
Parting Shot:
The fact that architecture and geometric spaces play a not insignificant part in The Night House bodes well for the Hellraiser reboot Bruckner is currently in post-production on, from a screenplay credited to Collins, Piotrowski, and David Goyer (also, incidentally enough, a producer on The Night House).
Plus! Jamie Clayton as Pinhead!
 
(The Night House OS courtesy of impawards.com.)

10 Slots for the Best Horror I've Seen in the Past Year
[4 of 10]

THE RITUAL

(September 2017)

"Makes you feel insignificant, right?"

"Speak for yourself.”

“Come on, man, where’s your soul? These mountains were smashed out by Nordic gods with big bastard hammers!”

David Bruckner’s The Ritual is the latest in the long and (un)hallowed line of horror films that warn us that man was not meant to traipse through the deep, dark woods.

You may recognize Bruckner as a ¡Qué horror! regular, having been on the rundown three previous times--in 2008, on the inaugural online ¡Qué horror! list (for his “transmission” in The Signal); in 2012 (for his contribution to V/H/S, “Amateur Night”); and in 2016 (for his contribution to Southbound, “The Accident”*).

So if you’re keeping tabs, then it becomes quite clear that The Ritual is Bruckner’s first feature film that’s landed a ¡Qué horror! slot, and a solid title it is.

Working with a script by Joe Barton (who’s written for Humans), based in turn on the novel by Adam Nevill, Bruckner gives us a tense nailbiter that follows four friends from university, as they hike Kungsleden (“King’s Trail”), running between Sweden and Norway, a vacation that turns out to be a terrible decision, as indicated by the tagline displayed on the quad above.

Bruckner and company** kill it with this one…

“Well, this is clearly the house we get murdered in.”

* Or, alternately, “Accident”. (Even on the official Dark Sky Films website, it’s referred to by both titles…)

** Amongst the film’s executive producers, the one and only Andy Serkis.

(The Ritual UK quad courtesy of empireonline.com.)

¡QUÉ HORROR! 2018

Candidate #3

THE RITUAL

(September 2017)

"Makes you feel insignificant, right?"

"Speak for yourself.”

“Come on, man, where’s your soul? These mountains were smashed out by Nordic gods with big bastard hammers!”

David Bruckner’s The Ritual is the latest in the long and (un)hallowed line of horror films that warn us that man was not meant to traipse through the deep, dark woods.

You may recognize Bruckner as a ¡Qué horror! regular, having been on the rundown three previous times--in 2008, on the inaugural online ¡Qué horror! list (for his “transmission” in The Signal); in 2012 (for his contribution to V/H/S, “Amateur Night”); and in 2016 (for his contribution to Southbound, “The Accident”*).

So if you’re keeping tabs, then it becomes quite clear that The Ritual is Bruckner’s first feature film that’s in the running for a ¡Qué horror! slot, and a solid title it is.

Working with a script by Joe Barton (who’s written for Humans), based in turn on the novel by Adam Nevill, Bruckner gives us a tense nailbiter that follows four friends from university, as they hike Kungsleden (“King’s Trail”), running between Sweden and Norway, a vacation that turns out to be a terrible decision, as indicated by the tagline displayed on the quad above.

Bruckner and company** kill it with this one…

“Well, this is clearly the house we get murdered in.”

* Or, alternately, “Accident”. (Even on the official Dark Sky Films website, it’s referred to by both titles…)

** Amongst the film’s executive producers, the one and only Andy Serkis.

(The Ritual UK quad courtesy of empireonline.com.)