I thought LOVE, DEATH, AND ROBOTS was the strangest thing on Netflix. That was until I saw the three-chapter movie, THE HOUSE. In this new Netflix special, the house is the singular constant throughout three haunting tales of envy, obsession, and stubbornness. Each chapter unspools with a sense of dread in beautiful stop-motion animation that’s some of the best I’ve ever seen. Since this movie is broken into three distinct thirty-minute short films, I will do the same with my review.
CHAPTER 1 🤩
If Mike Flanagan made an animated short, I imagine that it would be like this. The sum of Chapter 1 doesn’t equal the creepiness, but it’s well lived in and does what I love most in horror by putting children in danger.
CHAPTER 2 🤩
The eeriness and long shots are gone in Chapter 2, replaced with a more whimsical Wes Anderson-style animated horror. Chapter 2 is a strange version of JOE’S APARTMENT as if played with a talking mouse.
CHAPTER 3 😊
Despite being the most technically impressive of the bunch, Chapter 3 is the weakest. The mice are replaced with cats, and the challenges feel more “first world” than anything of consequence. As the lead character gets more annoyed with her surroundings, I did as well, watching her make poor choices.
THE HOUSE is challenging adult-themed content disguised in animation. I don’t know who the audience is for this film, but I’m impressed that Netflix took a chance on it.
It’s available on Netflix.
