House (1985)
*** (out of 4)
Roger Cobb (William Katt) is an author trying to come to terms with the disappearance of his young son and the separation from his wife (Kay Lenz). After the suicide of his aunt, Roger decides to move into her house, which she always believed to be haunted. Roger wants to use the isolation to come up with his new novel but it doesn't take long before strange things begin to happen.
Producer Sean Cunningham and director Steve Miner had known each other since they worked on THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT and they also worked on the first two sequels to Friday THE 13TH. This film here isn't the greatest movie ever made but there's no question that it has a certain charm to it and it works even better since it was rather unique for this era of horror films. During this period most of what fans were seeing were slashers with high body counts. That's certainly not what HOUSE is so that alone makes it stand out in a crowded genre.
There's a lot of stuff to like here but I think what I enjoyed most about the picture is that you're never quite sure what's going on or what's going to happen. Yes, you know the house is haunted but the screenplay gives us a couple mysteries including the disappearance of the son as well as a Vietnam subplot that actually works. All of these elements are blended together and while there are some logical issues with the film, the screenplay is at least entertaining enough to keep you glued to everything that is going on.
It also doesn't hurt that the cast is so good. Katt really makes you believe the character and in return you can believe the various situations that he finds himself in. I thought the actor was very good in the part and he certainly made you pay closer attention to everything going on. George Wendt is a lot of fun as the nosy neighbor and Lenz is also quite good in her supporting role. The make-up effects certainly aren't ground-breaking but they're at least fun and help add to the entertainment value.
HOUSE certainly has some flaws and there are certainly some things that could have worked better but for the most part this is a very entertaining gem that manages to keep you entertained throughout.
