Review of House

House (1985)
7/10
"House - enter if you dare!"
10 December 2022
Powerful opening scene has a grocery delivery boy discover an old woman hanging from her bedroom ceiling in her large Victorian house. Author and Vietnam veteran Roger Cobb (William Katt), nephew of the dead lady, inherits the house and he decides to work on his latest book there but finds out that not only is it haunted but it is also a portal to his past fighting in the Vietnam jungle (or at least a film set with a bunch of jungle looking plants). Producer Sean S Cunningham, who directed the classic "Friday the 13th" (1980), said that by 1985 the slasher movie was in rapid decline and that the way forward for horror was to add some humour, House delivers as many laughs as it does scares. One of the main creatures, a witch type being, is as much Muppet Show as it is scary. In fact the scariest thing on show is a creepy looking little boy called Robert, sporting a shocking mullet. His mum Tanya (Mary Stavin) is very hot mind! George Wendt of TV's "Cheers" plays Roger's neighbour and delivers some very funny lines. In terms of horror one of the best scenes has Roger under attack from a bunch of flying garden tools. I wouldn't go as far as to call House a classic but it is a good movie that delivers both horror and comedy, plus some good special effects and a Henry Manfredini musical score, the 1980's were the most fun decade for horror without a doubt.
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