The Netflix Horror Thriller With 100% On Rotten Tomatoes
Anyone looking for a break from holiday-themed entertainment should check out His House. The horror thriller isn’t just a nice change of pace from all of the “Ho, Ho, Ho”, it’s also a rare 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. If a critically acclaimed horror film sounds like the perfect Christmas counter-programming, read on.
His House stars Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu, and the 11th Doctor himself, Matt Smith. The movie, streaming currently on Netflix, tells the story of a couple of refugees from South Sudan attempting to adjust to a new life in a small English town. Unfortunately, there’s an evil presence lurking beneath the town that threatens the couple’s well-being.
Bol Majur (Dirisu) and Rial Majur (Mosaku) flee with their daughter Nyagak from war-torn Sudan on an overcrowded boat, braving an angry sea for a chance at a better life in Britain. Upon being granted asylum, the family is given a house in desperate need of repair as well as a strict set of rules to adhere to or else face deportation. Despite facing racism and bad fortune at every turn, the family is thankful.
Until that is, they discover an Apeth or “Night Witch” is haunting their house. Then, the family’s troubles truly begin.
His House was written and directed by Remi Weekes and marked the director’s first feature-length project. While doing research for the screenplay, Weekes was surprised at how many refugees chose to come to the UK based on its association with Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and the British Royal Family. In reality, immigrants like the family at the heart of His House are put in grey concrete housing estates located in poor, deprived areas of Englund.
Starchild Pictures, a British production company, developed the film and was later sued by The Weinstein Company based on an unsigned distribution agreement. The Weinstein Company eventually dropped the suit leaving New Regency Pictures, BBC Films, and Vertigo Entertainment to both finance and produce His House.
The movie was given a world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2020. After the festival, Netflix acquired the distribution rights to the film, releasing it in theaters on October 30, 2020, for a limited run before adding it to the Netflix streaming library.
Critics were extremely complimentary of the movie, making it a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes. The critical consensus for the film reads: “Featuring genuine scares through every corridor, His House is a terrifying look at the specters of the refugee experience and a stunning feature debut for Remi Weekes.” While not as high as the critic score, the Rotten Tomatoes audience score for His House is still a respectable 73%.
Most critics praised the film as a worthy debut for Remi Weekes as a film director. Many also expressed satisfaction with how Weekes blends social commentary with horror in such an organic way. One reviewer described His House as an “uncanny merging of political experience” with “perilous haunted-house thrills.”
For anyone in search of a compelling thriller with a supernatural bent and something real to say about asylum-seeking and immigration, His House is the movie for you. The genuine scares mixed with an authentic refugee experience are just the cure for a sickness born of overdone holiday bombast. His House is streaming right now on Netflix.
