House of Darkness

20221 hour 28 minsREnglish

HorroRated verdict

Highly Recommended

2020sVampireGothicSupernaturalSlow Burn

Directed by: Neil LaBute
Written by: Neil LaBute
Produced by: Daryl Freimark, Tim Harms, Shaun Sanghani

Collections

Creature Features Supernatural Gothic Slow Burn Psychological Isolation

Why it’s HorroRated

House of Darkness is a slow-burn vampire film that does something the subgenre rarely bothers with: it takes the predator's perspective seriously and makes the horror about what the prey deserves. LaBute directs with theatrical precision, keeping almost the entire film in one space and letting the dialogue do the work a lesser film would hand to atmosphere and jump scares. Kate Bosworth gives one of her best performances and the feminist reversal of the classic vampire seduction structure gives the whole thing a very specific satisfaction. Underseen and worth correcting.

Synopsis

Neil LaBute's film is structured almost entirely as a two-person chamber piece set in a single evening inside Mina Murray's castle-like estate. Hap is a liar trying to play the room and Mina is something considerably more dangerous than he's accounting for. LaBute keeps the vampire reveal patient and the dialogue sharp, letting the power dynamic shift gradually until Hap's confidence has fully evaporated. Kate Bosworth and Gia Crovatin are both excellent and the film earns its ending completely.