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Thursday, March 27, 2014

House (1986)

The use of silence to instill fear and increase the tension in scenes is a completely alien concept for most horror films from the 1980's; instead, directors or at least musical composers, felt that is was necessary to fill every scene with background music or sound effects. One movie that could have had some genuine scares if it wasn't for the overbearing and at times obnoxious musical score is 1986's "House" starring William Katt. The ending scene with the big showdown between Roger (William Katt) and his greatest fear could have been amazing if the background music didn't try to tell you that this was an intense scene a drowning out the action and dialogue that the actors were trying to convey.

Music aside, "House" is a clever and refreshing take on the classic haunted house motif. The house plays on the fears of it's tenant, first Roger's aunt and then Roger himself. Roger moves into the house after the disappearance of his young son and the divorce for his wife, who works as an actress, so he can work on his next book which is about his time in Vietnam War. It's not long before Roger notices the ghostly activities inside the house and is soon attacked by various ghouls and inanimate objects. With the help of his neighbor Harold, Roger tries to discover the source of the supernatural activity and finds his son in the process.


Big Ben



Feels like a Lovecraft creation



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