Reviews of the house
The House, Netflix's first year-end release, is a stop motion miniseries that tells three stories set in one large home. Each short is directed differently, but they share the same uncanny senses of terror and dread.
Nexus Studios' latest anthology The House is another in a long string of projects produced by the UK-based company. They also brought us Billie Eilish’s animated Special Happier Than Ever. Its three half-hour chapters all focus on different aspects of the same house in separate times.
Chapter one is set in 1900s. It tells the story of a poor family who moves into a house that seems to bring evil luck and bad luck to its inhabitants. It's slow-burning and evocative of Wes Anderson, with a stop animation aesthetic that's as much reminiscent of Ray Harryhausen, Salad Fingers and Fantastic Mr. Fox.
The House isn’t just a dark comedy. Instead, it’s an arthouse-style miniseries asking you to think. And it does so in a way that's often unexpected, and always rewarding.
This piece of cinema is creepy, funny and hopeful. This film is well-worth a watch with its compelling story beats combined with modern stop motion animation.
Aside from the gallows humor and shock value, The House is one of the more visually appealing stop-motion films you'll see outside of Laika. Each chapter has beautiful detail, from flocked figurines for the second story and felt characters for the first.
The House's look is a throwback to 1980s Epoch Sylvanian Families and is a welcome sight to stop-motion animation fans. The chapters one and two have felt characters, which adds to the sense of fear. The second chapter is filled with lifelike stop-motion characters, which are delightful for those who love stop motion films.
The House has its strengths, but it is not perfect. It can't quite overcome some of the minor shortcomings of its stories, which often substitute the surreal for more logical plot elements, while a sprinkling of sarcastic humor at the wrong moment makes for an uneven and ultimately unsatisfying finale. For fans of stop-motion animation and dark comedies, this is worth watching, especially if you like Tim Burton, David Firth or Wes Anderson.