Every so often a film pops up on a streaming network that will grab my attention and this time it was on Netflix with the animated movie in three chapters, The House.
The House is an eccentric dark comedy about a house and the three surreal tales of the individuals who made it their home. An anthology directed by the leading voices in independent stop motion animation: Emma de Swaef and Marc Roels, Niki Lindroth von Bahr and Paloma Baeza and produced by Nexus Studios.
The movie or TV series whichever way you watch it is a chance to take a strange journey over three wonderfully animated films that each has its own style and story-based around The House.
Chapter One
Starting with Chapter One which is set in the 1800s and not only the introduction to the creation of The House but also to the family that is the first to movie into it, one night impoverished Raymond (Matthew Goode) has a chance encounter with a strange character known as the benefactor who offers Raymond and his family the chance to take back their former status, but the family soon learns that their wants and desires don’t always lead them to what they expect.
This first story is not only beautifully animated but it is also rather unnerving with Raymond, his wife Penelope (Claudie Blakey) and their daughter Mabel (Mia Goth) finding that they are in a house that is constantly being changed, the family being given strange gifts and that the benefactor has much more in mind for the family and that their fate is not what they first would have bargained for.
The climax of the story takes you down a strange route and works brilliantly to bring the first story to an end.
There is some great voice acting in this first chapter including Mark Heap as Mr Thomas who is the benefactor’s contact for the family, plus listen out for Stephanie Cole and Miranda Richardson.
Chapter Two
For the second chapter, we are brought forward to the present day, now a harassed property developer (voiced by Jarvis Cocker) is refurbing The House to get it on the market for a quick turnaround, however, some strange and rather eerie guests have other plans for the property and things don’t go to plan as the developer goes on a personal transformation.
Again this is another wonderfully animated section, I love that the main character is a Rat and when you look deep into the story you see that it’s very much a “Rat Race” and that no matter what you do, there always seems to be a battle with something else, the change in the Cocker’s character is wonderfully done throughout, but be warned if you don’t like creepy-crawlies as there are some wonderfully animated ones in this chapter.
Chapter Three
We move forward to the future of The House for chapter three, the world is now flooded and the house is now standing on a small piece of land with all the floodwaters surrounding it, the house is now owned by Rosa (Susan Wokoma) who rents out rooms to Jen (Helena Bonham Carter) and Elias (Will Sharpe). Rosa is trying her best to restore the house, but with the lack of financial rent from her tenants her frustrations are rising, very much like the floodwaters.
One day a stranger arrives, brilliantly voiced by Paul Kaye, he sets up a tent outside and brings his new-age wisdom to Rosa, Jen and Elias, although Rosa isn’t interested in what Cosmos (Kaye) has to say and the help that he may be offering her.
The animation is again wonderful to watch in Chapter Three and after the rodent world of the previous chapter the cast for this chapter are cats, it’s a joy to watch and I think that this chapter and the first are my favourites of the three.
The House is certainly a well put together production, as I mentioned earlier the animation throughout is a joy to watch and the stories, although a little weird at first, are ones that really have you thinking as they move along. It’s fantastic to see films like this and film certainly is something that you should check out if you have Netflix.
Images courtesy of Netflix.
Taking a journey across the years with The House
Movie title: The House
Movie description: Across different eras, a poor family, an anxious developer and a fed-up landlady become tied to the same mysterious house in this animated dark comedy.
Date published: January 22, 2022
Country: UK
Duration: 1h 37m
Director(s): Emma De Swaef, Marc James Roels, Niki Lindroth von Bahr, Paloma Baeza
Genre: Animation, Comedy, Drama
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
