The House (2022)

The House (2022)

 6/10

Starring the voices of

Mia Goth

Claudie Blakley

Matthew Goode

Mark Heap

Miranda Richardson

 

Directed by Emma de Swaef, Marc James Roels, Niki Lindroth von Bahr and Paloma Baeza

 

The House is a Netflix stop-motion animated anthology film written by Enda Walsh. The animation tells three different stories set in three unique worlds, all centered around a house. The plots are engaging and carry a Twilight Zone feel. While the quality of the stop-motion animation is commendable, what truly stands out are the stories themselves.

What I admire most about this animation is its unpredictability. Just when you think you know where the story is headed, it takes another turn. The stories leave many threads untied, making you wonder: why was this mentioned? Why was that done? These loose ends are deliberate, keeping you confused and never quite sure where the plot is going.

The stories, like those of Twilight Zone, have a dark undertone, especially the first one about a family of four: a father, mother, and two daughters.

The father’s relatives are cruel, and when the youngest child was born, they visited and made him feel small and miserable. This led him to go on a drinking binge and take a walk. During his walk, he met a man who claimed to be a friend of his father. This man gave him an intriguing proposal: he would build the family a magnificent house if they agreed to move in as soon as it was completed. Additionally, they would need to sign away the deed to their old home.

The couple signed the papers and moved in the moment the house was ready. It was fully furnished, and they didn’t need to do a thing. However, strange events began to unfold. The lawyer acted suspiciously, and only the youngest daughter, Mabel, seemed to notice. She tried to warn her parents, but they were too engrossed in making the house perfect for themselves. By the time they realized what was happening, it was too late.

The second story takes place in a world populated by anthropomorphic rats. Here, the protagonist is a developer trying to flip the house. He’s facing financial problems, and selling the house is his last hope. He worked hard to prepare it for potential buyers but discovered the house was infested with bugs. After fumigating the place himself (not entirely successfully), he managed to get it ready for showings.

However, only one odd couple showed interest in the house. The problem? They refused to leave. They didn’t sign any papers, nor did they budge. Instead, they made the developer care for them while continually promising they’d buy the house.

The third tale is about anthropomorphic cats. The house in this story is falling apart, and one of the three main cats is its owner. She has grand dreams of transforming it into a desirable residence, but the area surrounding the house is completely flooded, and no one is coming.

Her current tenants refuse to pay rent, and she’s at her wit’s end. She desperately needs money to renovate the house and fulfill her vision, but the flooding worsens, and her tenants are too broke to contribute.