House (1986)

Yesterday, as my wife and I endured a tranquil eight hour drive home from Monroeville, PA (we were in town for this year's Living Dead Weekend in Evans City, PA), I had the sudden, gnawing urge to watch a particular film when we got home . . . the Steve Miner directed, Sean S. Cunningham produced and William Katt headlining House.  This is a film that has lived with me since its release to home video and, initially at least, completely terrified me!  It's not one that I revisit too often, but I thought, just for fun, let's revisit it.

How much are the property taxes, yo?

William Katt, rocking some of 1986's best fashion, stars as Roger Cobb, a Stephen King-like Horror novelist who is suffering the effects of PTSD from his tour of duty in Vietnam.  Kay Lenz also appears as Roger's estranged wife and soap opera star Sandy; unable to deal with the mysterious disappearance of their son Jimmy, the couple divorced.  On top of all of this Roger is suffering a bout of writer's block as he attempts to begin his next book, detailing his experiences in the Vietnam war (against his agent's advice of course).  The story really get moving when Roger learns that his beloved Aunt Elizabeth has committed suicide in the house he grew up in; ol' Auntie believed the house to be haunted of course.  While reviewing the titular house for a potential sale, Roger decides to move in and work on his next book.

There's our Greatest American Hero, ladies & gentlemen.

Kay Lenz as soap opera starlet Sandy

With a story by Fred Dekker, House is a perfect blend of horror suspense and rib-tickler comedy.  There are some genuinely creepy moments and shocking jump scares -- especially if you saw it for the first time at the age of 4yrs old like I did! -- but, with adult eyes, the creatures look a bit cartoonish and rubbery (which isn't necessarily a bad thing).  Yes, the house itself is haunted...kind of...it seems to be a conduit or gateway to "the other side" -- a similar theme would be explored in the Poltergeist series and, most recently, Netflix's Stranger Things.

Always listen to the crazy, suicidal ghosts!

Also worth noting, the cast contains two very popular television stars, who were both great comic relief on their immensely popular series; George Wendt of Cheers and Richard Moll of Night Court. Wendt appears as Harold, the nosey/kinda friend of a neighbor and Moll plays Roger's 'Nam buddy Big Ben.  Of the two, Wendt is perfect and serviceable as the skeptic to Roger's impending madness as the story progresses.  However, the film's one dull moment is Moll's performance.  I'm not sure if the part was written that way, but the Big Ben character has always fallen flat for me.  In the Vietnam flashback scenes, Big Ben comes across a little too cartoony and trying too hard to be a badass -- sort of like Ron Pearlman as Johner in Alien:  Resurrection).  The clunkiness of Big Ben has to be due to the script, as Moll as fine in other genre stuff like Evilspeak and The Dungeonmaster.  It also probably doesn't help that the 'Nam sequences are obviously filmed on a soundstage or someone's backyard, which immediately take me out of them...

Everyone knows your name in this house...



Richard Moll's performance is loaded with Bull...

Despite Richard Moll's sitcom delivery, the Big Ben character ends up being the film's main villain!  In Vietnam, Ben was hit by crossfire and, while begging Roger to "finish him off", was grabbed by NVA fighters and dragged away to a horribly prolonged death of torture....so, naturally, he's got a bone to pick with his old buddy Roger!  The Skeleton Big Ben looks surprisingly good and fits right in as the film's main baddie!  The makeup appliances seem to incorporate a similar process as seen in Return of the Living Dead with the Tar Man zombie, where the actor inside the suit has his face blacked out, but is still slightly visible whenever the monster opens its mouth to talk....still, ya gotta love practical special effects and I tip my hat to effects artists Barney Burman and Brian Wade!

Skeleton Big Ben stalks Roger in the House!

Also, a bit of a detractor for me is Friday The 13th composer Harry Manfredini's score for the film.  Sure there are some interesting themes -- the main one for instance -- but the majority of it echoes the Friday The 13th series a bit too much for me, resulting in a similar problem with his score for The Hills Have Eyes Part 2.


One of the more brilliant things that I noticed while watching the film again is its lighting.  In scenes that are set at night, the lighting in the house and in most rooms appears much brighter and fuller as if the action is taking place during the daytime.  In particular, scenes in the room where Aunt Elizabeth hanged herself and the room with the creepy closet.  This lighting choice further adds to the disorientation of when (or how long) events have been occurring. When Roger shoots the re-animated swordfish on the wall, the lighting in the den where it all happens suggests that its at night...but almost immediately after, Sandy shows up and it's the middle of the day and sunny outside.  Not sure if this was an intentional trick on the part of lighting tech Dennis Bishop or just a happy accident...


There are a few things that have sat with me since first seeing House though . . . that poster art is incredible isn't it?  I'll never forget seeing it in the video store and being absolutely terrified by it -- even if it is a bit misleading. 


Next, the scene where Sandy shows up at the house, startling Roger who's just fired off a few shotgun rounds at a mounted and stuffed swordfish.  Roger drops a couple of shotgun shells, which roll off the table between them and his beautiful wife bends down (out of frame) to pick them up . . . she then pops up as some sort of grotesque witch beast!  No joke...this was a moment for me where I'd clench my eyes shut and plug my ears!  Absolutely terrifying....of course, these days, it's a silly rubber suit and the whole thing plays much more for comedy than terror.

As the kids say these days:  Nightmare Fuel

Finally, there's Roger's bathroom and its medicine cabinet.  As a kid, around the same time this move was probably filmed, my older cousin Tim was always jumping out of his closet sporting some sort of Halloween mask (not to mention the Creepshow and Return of the Living Dead posters that he had on his bedroom wall) and scaring the hell out of me!  Of course, these days I thank him for showing me the way, but back then, that shit absolutely terrified me and gave me nightmares (in a good way)!  I swear -- and this is coming from the memory or a 4yr old -- that the bathroom at my aunt and uncle's house at the time looked exactly like that bathroom in House.  I'll never forget the eerie silence of being in that bathroom and as for the medicine cabinet that hung above the sink?  NOPE!

Who knew medicine cabinets were so terrifying?

Thirty years later, Steve Miner's House still holds up relatively well for me.  Despite its shortcomings with the Big Ben character and the 'Nam flashbacks, I still love it and give it a spin at least once a year.  If you're in the mood for some good fun with a horror film....I definitely recommend House!


Closet monsters be damned!