Title – The House (2022)  

Directors – Paloma Baeza, Emma De Swaef, Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Marc James Roels

Cast – (voices of) Mia Goth, Matthew Goode, Miranda Richardson

Plot – Combines three separate tales that take place in one far from ordinary house that appears to offer nothing but hopelessness for those that inhabit it.  

“Three visionary tales. One unforgettable place”

Review by Eddie on 31/01/2023

Initially planned as a mini-series, Netflix original The House brings together some of the most talented and up and coming animated filmmakers from across the world in what eventuates into a curious and unique 3-part feature that can be admired for its artistry but no so much for its storytelling or narrative nuance. 

Set across three separate eras and told entirely through the use of impressive stop-motion animation and set creation, The House covers stories of a quiet human family, a real estate dealing mouse and a renovating cat with renter problems and at all times remains odd, curious and darkly comical, once more reminding us that for whatever reason this type of animation style leads itself to things more macabre in nature. 

With the three stories all relatively different in their own ways, the glue that holds everything together here is the titular abode that the films handmade cast (voiced by the likes of horror star Mia Goth and British rouge Matthew Goode) live in and while like the film itself the house at the centre of all the drama is impressively crafted and constructed, it’s hard to ever get on board with the stories that inhabit it with the films first installment “And Heard Within a Lie Is Spun” standing out as the most appeasing narratively and the last segment “Listen Again and Seek the Sun” the biggest standout in an aesthetic point of view. 

For anyone that has enjoyed the likes of A Nightmare Before Christmas, Coraline, 9 or Kubo there are sure to be many enjoyable elements to this collaborative feature but you can’t help feeling like there’s a great chance that went begging here for The House to utilize the talents of its directors to greater effect with this appearing to be a sentiment shared by many viewers with The House disappearing quickly from public view after its release on Netflix earlier in 2022. 

Despite this disappointment that may likely be felt from viewers expecting something more substantial, we can be thankful that Netflix continues to back these type of out of the ordinary affairs that in today’s climate may not ever have a chance to exist if the likes of Netflix weren’t willing to grant them a platform to be showcased on. 

Final Say – 

There’s much to be admired here in an artistic sense but outside of that, The House is an odd feature that fails to capture the hearts and imaginations in its stories or storytelling. 

3 staircases out of 5