The House

I was not all all familiar with The House when I noticed it on Netflix, yet was drawn to check it out, and am very glad that I did. It's a very interesting and charming film anthology of stop-animation. The three stories and characters are all unique and distinct from one another except for this house that ties them together. The animation is excellent, the score is solid, and the stories engaging and thought provoking. I total surprise delight for me.

I hate this house.

Three stories that are only related through the same house.

What impressed me the most was the cinematography and music. Even though it's an animation, the camera shots and lightning was incredible. The music amplified the frustration from the characters and made me feel uneasy about the house. Aesthetically this movie was beautiful.

The art style also made the house felt like a character: even though it's beautiful on the outside, it's all sort of weirdness on the inside. This led to the absurd yet entertaining stories. They all started with a situation that could happen in real life, but then became exaggerated metaphorically. The second story was my favorite. It sure was nasty, but also ridiculous and funny.

Overall, it's a well-crafted and bizarre piece of work. This is what art-house cinema is haha. 7.5/10.

With imagery that seems to recall nightmares everyone seems to have at some point, The House is actively engaging and eye-catching. At first.

The movie is actually an anthology with three episodes set in the same house, in different decades and with different types of characters. The first chapter is the best one, with a fully thought-out concept that is clichéd but very effective. The ending is somewhat unsatisfying, leaves the viewer wanting for more in the same way watching a movie trailer does.

The second episode is wayy less effective. Thematically and plot-wise, there seems to be no connection between the episodes. Worse than that, the ideas they seem to have wanted to explore feel only hinted at. After the second episode, I just gave up. Overall, first chapter is worth watching if only for the spooky atmosphere and engaging story. The second chapter destroys whatever promise the first one showed. Having top notch production values does not make up for lack of plot and faulty writing.

Animation is superlative. The problem is with the scripts. The first story was good but had an abrupt ending. The rest two were pretty bad except for one or two funny dialogues.

This film is one of the most well-crafted films I have ever seen. Every single frame is so precise in the details. I really hope that other filmmakers are inspired by this type of creativity, and use this styling in their own films.

The stories themselves were weirdly unsettling, and although I wouldn't classify it as a horror, many elements seemed as though they were inspired from some nightmarish dream. Although I am sure many audiences will find that they prefer a certain "story" (or generation) above the others - as each story seems to be specifically catered to a certain demographic - each story is unique in its story telling and compelling enough to make you keep watching.

I highly recommend this film, it is a great watch and surely worth your time. It is much better than 95% of the current content on Netflix by far.