Horror novelist Roger Cobb has been dealing with a plethora of troubles as of late. For starters, he is recently separated, his son has disappeared without a trace, and just recently, his Aunt Elizabeth has committed suicide. Under pressure to write a followup to his latest novel, the Vietnam veteran decides to move into his recently deceased Aunt's house, hoping to write a novel about his past horrors, cleansing his soul and clearing his mind. But soon after moving in, strange happenings begin to occur, and Cobb begins to believe that this house may resent his very presence.
Once you recognize that Steve Miner, the man who has worked on the first three successful and popular entries in the Friday the 13th saga (and subsequently directed the latter two) is the director behind 1986's House, a quite bizarre, but surprisingly amusing take on the haunted house formula, you're almost ensured a good time (Sean S. Cunningham, director of the first entry in that franchise, would also produce this picture). Unlike those particular features, it obviously isn't a bloodbath or anything resembling a slasher, but it does have that same sort of tongue-in-cheek fun you would see quite a bit of that year and in years to come. Later in 1986, Miner would also serve as a second unit director on the very under-appreciated Night of the Creeps, which also shares the same storywriter as House in Fred Dekker.
I have to commend House from the very start for its casting, because it sure was nice to see William Katt in something that reminds us of his once-promising talent, instead of the garbage he would end up floundering about in, such as a particular killer fish film remake released in 1995 and Asylum knockoffs you can buy as cheap coasters. Earlier in the month, I had completely forgotten to mention his portrayal as Tommy Ross in my original review for Carrie, but as good as he can be when he's playing it straight, he's also got a good knack for slapstick if the project calls for it, and Roger Cobb seems to be a good mixture of about eighty percent seriousness and twenty percent comedy, though most of it shows up in the final third of the reel. His vietnam flashback sequences weren't quite as convincing however, coming across far more comical than I'm sure they were meant to be, even in a film that's generally considered a horror-comedy by most of its fans.
The supporting cast is a mixed bag for the most part. George Wendt of Cheers fame shows up to play the obnoxious, but lovable neighbor, portraying the character with a sort of blissful ignorance that almost delves into potential helpfulness that I couldn't help but sort of love. There's a tiny subplot involving former Miss World titleholder Mary Stavin (who if I can add was pretty gorgeous) and her forcing Roger to babysit her kid for one night, which felt wholly unnecessary and felt like it led to nothing, other than some cool creature costumes. If there's one thing I'm discovering that I have true distaste for in horror cinema, it is the "child in peril" subplot that is just there to be there. What I do not hate, however, are some of the fun visual and prop gags scattered throughout the house that continually mentally torture Roger, including a very odd sequence involving a swordfish. I know some more jaded students of today's horror community will dismiss these as looking quite archaic though, and I can't really disagree with them, even if it didn't bother me in the slightest.
The supporting cast is a mixed bag for the most part. George Wendt of Cheers fame shows up to play the obnoxious, but lovable neighbor, portraying the character with a sort of blissful ignorance that almost delves into potential helpfulness that I couldn't help but sort of love. There's a tiny subplot involving former Miss World titleholder Mary Stavin (who if I can add was pretty gorgeous) and her forcing Roger to babysit her kid for one night, which felt wholly unnecessary and felt like it led to nothing, other than some cool creature costumes. If there's one thing I'm discovering that I have true distaste for in horror cinema, it is the "child in peril" subplot that is just there to be there. What I do not hate, however, are some of the fun visual and prop gags scattered throughout the house that continually mentally torture Roger, including a very odd sequence involving a swordfish. I know some more jaded students of today's horror community will dismiss these as looking quite archaic though, and I can't really disagree with them, even if it didn't bother me in the slightest.
So that's pretty much House in a nutshell. Far from perfect, but still a really good time. There are some good visuals, a good story, and some funny bits of dialogue, making for a fine way to kill an half and a half. The biggest question that will come to your mind will the same one that came to mine: "How does one go about with making THREE sequels to a picture like this?" Perhaps I'll find out next year, but we're getting ready to wrap up this year's iteration of Unseen Terror anyway, and I'll need a good week or so away from reviews just to give my eyes and hands a break before I even start contemplating such a thing.
Tomorrow, we jump forward into the 1990s yet again, with the much beloved (or is it?) EVENT HORIZON!
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