House of Darkness review by Bobby Blakey
In my opinion Justin Long is one of the most underrated actors out there. The man has showcased his ease in delivering horror, comedy, drama and everything in between. He and his real-life wife Kate Bosworth have teamed up for a few films including the recent horror flick Coyotes. In 2022 they took on a different kind of horror film with House of Darkness co-starring Gia Crovatin, and Lucy Walters from Death at a Funeral, The Wicker Man and Dirty Weekend director Neil Labute. Could this film bring something new to the genre, or will it fail to score?
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House of Darkness follows a player out to score thinks his beautiful, mysterious date will be another casual hook-up after driving home to her secluded estate after meeting at a local bar. While getting acquainted, their flirtation turns playful, sexy and sinister. Hoping to get lucky, his luck may have just run out.
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The real chemistry that Bosworth and Long have has meshed well on screen so was interested to see what was going on this time around. I knew the premise of this film but didn’t know what kind of tone it was going to be bringing. I can say this film is nothing what I thought it was going to be and that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. That doesn’t mean the film is without its flaws, but it is an intriguing direction it takes the viewer.
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The idea is simple with most of the movie just focused on Long and Bosworth’s characters playing a sensual game of cat and mouse as we are getting pulled into this world. This is a mixed bag of being engaging, frustrating and mysterious all at once. There are so many red flags that would make you instantly want to leave, but it leans into sexual control without ever getting to sexual physically and zero nudity. Guys will likely relate to ridiculous behavior while the ladies will shake their heads at his dumb decisions.
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It is quite a while before any other players enter the picture, but when they do it keeps just the three leads front and center for the rest of the film. It is an interesting approach that initially doesn’t always make sense, but as it all unfolds you realize why and where this is headed. There is never a mystery that more is at play, but more how it is going to play out. Up until the final act the film really just focuses on the character development and dialogue with little else. The dialogue is not all great, but for the most part it works even when it tends to drag sometimes as they are trying to build the tension and lore.
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The final act is swift in execution and while it is gory fun and a satisfying direction it felt more abrupt than I had hoped for. It is the kind of thing that I still feel works for a great final act for this film but may not work for most. I think a lot will come down to fandom of Bosworth and Long as they are the reasons this film really works since they must carry most of it.
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Decide for yourself and grab your copy of House of Darkness available now on Blu-ray from Shoreline Entertainment.
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Head over to Movie Zyng now to get your copy here.