House

Released by: Lionsgate
Released on: April 7, 2009.
Director: Robby Henson
Cast: Michael Madsen, Reynaldo Rosales, Julie Ann Emery, Heidi Dippold, Bill Moseley
Year: 2007
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The Movie:

House takes place in the middle of nowhere, Alabama where two different couples - Jack (Reynaldo Rosales) and Stephanie (Heidi Dippold) and Leslie (Julie Ann Emery) and Randy (J.P. Davis) - who find themselves running from a killer dubbed The Tin Man (Michael Madsen), who is out for their blood. After running for a while, they soon come across a creepy inn run by a strange woman named Betty (Leslie Easterbrook) and her son Stewart (Bill Moseley) and figure they can hide out there until they can decide what to do about their situation.

It doesn't take them long to realize, however, that they've walked into a trip and that the Tin Man has obviously chased them here on purpose - when a tin can comes hurtling down the chimney, they know he's close by and written inside this can are his 'rules' dictating that unless they kill one of their own, he's going to make very short work of all four of them. They have until the sun rises in the morning to figure out how to make their way out of this and find a way out of the house they've found themselves trapped inside, that is, if the sins of their past don't catch up with them first.

Despite the R rating on the back packaging, House isn't particularly gruesome nor does it contain much profanity at all - this isn't surprising considering that writer Frank Peretti has made a pretty decent career for himself writing horror and suspense fiction with a uniquely Christian slant to it. You don't generally think of Christianity and horror films going hand in hand but House does a pretty good job of keeping its message subtle and not beating you over the head with anything, making for a picture that can be enjoyed by anyone regardless of faith.

While it would have been nice to see Michael Madsen and Bill Moseley get a bit more screen time given their top billing on the DVD packaging, performances are mediocre across the board though the cinematography does a good job of capturing a fairly claustrophobic tone and feel once the action starts to take place in the titular house. A few decent jump scares and a couple of supernatural elements keep this rooted in horror movie territory but it's really more of a suspense film than a flat out horror picture - don 'expect much in the way of gore, rather this one works on atmosphere and for the most part it succeeds. You have to keep your expectations here as the packaging definitely makes it look like more of a traditional horror film than it is. The film's biggest flaw is there are definitely times where you feel like you've seen this before. The picture also jumps around a bit, making you wonder if maybe there wasn't a whole lot more to the book that didn't make it to the screen here. There are scenes that are a bit too familiar and despite the theological slant, the story isn't really doing anything new. That said, it's entertaining enough to make for a fun time killer.

Video/Audio/Extras:

House is presented in 1.78.1 anamorphic widescreen. Like a lot of modern horror movies, you'll notice that the colors have been tweaked a bit for the entire duration, to giving the film a dank and dirty look. This was obviously an intentional choice and it isn't a flaw in this well authored disc. The source material used for this transfer was very clean as there aren't any problems with print damage, nor are there any obvious issues with mpeg compression artifacts. Some really mild edge enhancement pops up once or twice but if you're not looking for it, you're probably not going to notice it. Overall, the movie looks just fine.

The English language Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track sounds pretty decent and it comes with optional subtitles in English and Spanish. Channel separation is good, even if it could have been a little more aggressive during some of the more intense scenes. Dialogue is clean and clear and the track is well balanced without any hiss or distortion rearing its ugly head. Bass response is good, though the lower end could have been a bit stronger. Generally the audio here is pretty strong and the score in particular sounds quite nice.

Sadly, the only extras on this disc are some spiffy animated menus and a chapter selection option. That's it.

The Final Word:

Despite the barebones presentation, House turns out to be a surprisingly well made thriller and Lionsgate have given it a nice looking and sounding DVD debut.