He also dabbles with some surrealist imagery, with mixed results, but itвЂ™s refreshing to see a horror film that doesnвЂ™t take the easy route by settling into a tried-and-tested formula.

While at times Weekes does rely on some tired scare tactics and an often ineffective score, he also has some effectively nasty tricks up his sleeve, including a killer twist that adds further poignancy to the story and an intriguing backstory for the force that plagues the couple. The haunting that takes place is one thatвЂ™s tied to something that feels tangible, not only grief over the death of their daughter but the devastating weight of survivorвЂ™s guilt, for the ones that were left behind or lost along the way. WeвЂ™re in fantastical territory but Weekes keeps one foot in the real world throughout. But Weekes also avoids leaning into caricature, especially with Matt SmithвЂ™s empathetic housing officer who could have so easily been painted as a villain. Their brief encounters with the outside world are mostly harsh and unforgiving, from open to casual racism, making any sort of adjustment seem impossible. Setting his film in an unspecified part of England, Weekes makes life for the couple as scary out of the house as it is inside. Initial relief slowly turns to fear however as they start to believe theyвЂ™re not alone. After an unspecified time at a detention centre, theyвЂ™re granted their own house, far from London and in a grimy state of disrepair, but a house nonetheless and one thatвЂ™s theirs to turn into a home. But an accident at sea has them arriving on British shores grieving the loss of their daughter. Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) risked everything to take a nighttime boat journey to safety, or at least the dream of safety away from violent conflict back home. For the first 20 minutes, His House plays less like a supernatural horror and more like a grounded human drama, telling the plight of a Sudanese family seeking asylum in the UK.

Old film grain overlay