Official synopsis
The story revolves around an abandoned house in the Scottish countryside that holds a terrible secret. Day after day, a man posing as a real estate agent lures visitors inside, and one by one they disappear. One night a young woman searching for her estranged father takes refuge inside, but soon begins to feel she’s not alone. The film mixes unsettling voyeuristic surrealism with themes of belonging, isolation, and toxic relationships.
Review
Aficionados of experimental independent horror should find writer/director Harry Aspinwall’s The House Was Not Hungry Then (U.K., 2025) a highly intriguing watch. Aspinwall riffs on the haunted house premise, making the point of view from the house itself as both observer and participant.
Cinematographer Stephen D. Grant uses non-moving camera shots placed a fair distance back from most of the proceedings, as he and Aspinwall combine to deliberately give viewers a detached feeling. This latter element continues with the characters, as they are unnamed. The two main characters are a young woman who breaks into the house (Bobby Rainsbury) during her search for her estranged father and a real estate agent (Clive Russell) who provides sustenance for the abode in the way of unwary prospective buyers.
A constant air of dread looms over the proceedings, and once we learn the dread secret of the house, some truly unnerving occurrences happen. Aspinwall aims for shudders more than shocks, and the slow, deliberate pacing means that viewer mileage will vary. Rainsbury and Russell both give solid performances, though the film emphasizes form over character development and to some point, even character investment.
The House Was Not Hungry Then is the sort of horror film that will prove divisive, but for those who appreciate the unusual in fear fare, it is certainly worth seeking out.
The House Was Not Hungry Then, from Chroma, is available from February 13th, 2026, on digital platforms.
A version of this review was published for our Cinequest 2025 coverage.
