The Stream: Dialogue is a bit lacking

The Big Screen: CREEPY, great message, story and lead actors

The Final Bill: A powerful presentation of the refugee journey

– S2S: Movie Review
Director: Remi Weekes
Writers: Felicity Evans (Story by), Toby Venables (Story by) | 1 more credit »
Stars: Sope Dirisu, Wunmi Mosaku, Malaika Wakoli-Abigaba | See full cast & crew
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller 
Rating: TV-14 (a little bit of blood and grossness)
Runtime: 1 hour 30 minutes
Platform: Netflix (October 30th)

I’m not even going to lie Streamers, I was surprised by this movie release this week. Netflix came with that ether for His House. His House was released on Oct. 30, 2020. IMDB provides us the following description of the movie: “a refugee couple makes a harrowing escape from war-torn South Sudan, but then they struggle to adjust to their new life in an English town that has an evil lurking beneath the surface.” Check out the trailer below or on our Facebook group page.

After seeing the trailer, I definitely wanted to see this movie; and I am happy to say that it lived up to my expectations. For a movie that is released on Halloween’s eve, it lived up to the creepiness and horror bill. This is not a typical horror film, but it does have a few of those supernatural elements. His House is more of a psychological thriller; but, unlike the most recent trend of psychological thrillers, this film actually has some jumps and scares. The production of this struck a nice balance of “is this in his mind?” or “is this house haunted?” or “WHAT IS GOING ON?!”, which I think viewers will enjoy. In fact, even knowing the outcome, I’m pretty sure I could watch this film again and still jump at the same moments and feel like I don’t want to turn off the lights. For all intents and purposes, he can keep his dang on house!

Now, for the political, social, and cultural commentary portion of the movie. The storyline is quite compelling and can potentially open the eyes of the people who really want to “build a wall.” His House really highlights the experience, struggles, and traumas of refugees coming from war-torn countries. Personally, I felt like the leads of this movie, Sope Dirisu as Bol and Wunmi Mosaku as Rial, had limited dialogue and could have been used better. Nevertheless, they were still quite excellent. Bol and Rial really take the viewer through a range of emotions. If you don’t feel their anxiety and pain in this movie, you might need a reality, entitlement, and privilege check.

Needless to say, His House is a big box of popcorn for a streaming film. It’s perfect for Halloween, but it is also an excellent movie to watch throughout the year. If you have no idea what it means to be a refugee seeking asylum in this country or others, I beg you to watch this movie and get an idea of the perils and sacrifices people endure to make a better life. Grab that big box of popcorn or tub of Halloween candy and watch His House.