During the final days of World War II, two German soldiers traverse the frozen Norwegian countryside with their prisoner of war. These Ratzis soon realize they are lost as balls, seeing as how their compasses are acting crazier than a shit house rat (nope, nothing strange here)…but, thankfully they find an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere to hunker down in. Things seem to be going swell; they can rest, warm-up…maybe shit, shower, and shave…but of course this is a fright flick, so this is merely the calm before the supernatural storm; as this arcane abode has one of those “evil pasts” that the kids are so wild about these days, and before you can say “Haunted Hitler” our “heroes” are in over their heads in supernatural goings-on!
Writer/Director Reinert Kiil (Christmas Blood) has delivered something with The House that I can truly say I have never seen in my decades in the horror biz; a “cabin in the woods” style story set in WWII with exorcism elements. That is one hell of a bold concept for a fright flick, and our man Kiil pulls it of like a goddamned champ! This is one suspenseful, fright filled ride, loaded with atmospheric cinematography (courtesy of John-Erling H. Fredriksen), and a rock solid cast (with Mats Reinhardt as the Nazi Jurgen Kreiner who delivers a performance that actually manages to generate a tinge of sympathy in a man that has engaged unspeakable evil in the name of his country with commanding stoicism…no easy feat, and one that becomes even more nuanced when contrasted with Frederick von Luttichau as his skittish, trigger-happy subordinate).
Also of note is the way the film bounces around in time six ways to fuckin’ Sunday, so you boils n’ ghouls better be ready to actually pay close attention to the film (though why you would watch a film and not actually watch it is a mystery to your’s cruelly) as it messes with the chronological order of the events at hand!
Along with all that, the film also delivers a palpable sense of dread and tension, while still delivering moments of fright, as a good horror pic should, especially with the whole haunted house gags of creaking/slamming doors, radios that operate of their own accord, and an incessant scratching in the walls.
To put a beastly bow on it; The House is one hell of a time in the ol’ horror biz; it’s exceedingly well made and acted, and filled with the thrills and chills lovers of the haunted house and possession genres absolutely crave!
