House is a horror film from the mid-80s, one that I remember seeing on cable years ago. Thanks to Netflix, I can indulge in all my nostalgic movie impulses, including one in which William Katt fights an undead, pissed-off Richard Moll in a Vietnam War zombie suit.
Really.
Katt plays a successful horror novelist who is also a Vietnam vet. Before the movie begins, his son mysteriously disappears from his aunt’s house, leading to a divorce from his wife, the very attractive Kay Lenz. A short time later his aunt commits suicide and Katt returns to the house to work on his latest book, an autobiography of his time in Vietnam. He soon finds that the house is a portal to a spectral realm full of ghost, goblins...and a very angry Moll.
Isn't this how all authors dress when writing? I know I do. |
House is not a particularly scary movie. It is generally billed as a horror comedy and there are some funny bits, although the movie is not a parody a la the
Scary Movie series. My favorite humorous bit involves a hot neighbor (Mary Stavin) who at first seems to be coming on to Katt. Later, it turns out she was sizing him up...as babysitter material. She deposits her son with him while she heads off on a date. And, of course, the ghosts try to snag the little rug-rat.
Kay Lenz orders a pizza...or something. |
The film is light-hearted as far as horror movies go. The creature designs are imaginative, but not particularly frightening. There are a couple of jump scares and some bloodless dismemberments (these are ghosts after all). The spirit realm is basically a jungle set, including Viet Cong. This makes sense since it appears this little slice of the afterlife gets its form from Richard Moll's Vietnam zombie ghost. Moll, who seems to be orchestrating things and commanding the other creatures, is after Katt. During the war, he was severely injured in an attack. Katt found him, left him to get help and while he was gone, the VC captured Moll and tortured him to death. Moll blames Katt for not killing him quickly...but not the VC who actually killed him? Well, no one said ghosts have to behave rationally.
Richard Moll preparing for his Night Court reunion show. |
In the end, Katt rescues his son - who was sucked into a portal to the ghost world in the pool, overcomes his fear of Moll (and, by extension, the trauma of the war) and blows him up. Moll...not his son. Lenz shows up just in time to see Katt and son emerge from the burning house. Smiles all around. The end.
So, what do I like about it? It’s just a FUN movie. Although it starts a little slow, midway through the second act the action picks up and doesn’t stop. The effects are rubbery, but look neat and fit the sense of an alien reality bleeding into ours. The spirit world is minimal - a dark jungle set - but given that it is a reflection of Moll’s evil spirit and represents a part of Katt’s life that he never got over, it works. And the movie is pretty funny. And, yes, there is nostalgia at work. I was a kid when I first saw the movie. Like other films from that time - e.g., Fright Night, Hellraiser, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 - seeing them does take me back to those days. And, that is part of the appeal of Halloween for an adult. The chance to indulge in a child’s sense of wonder and terror.
If Mary Stavin showed up looking like this, asking for baby sitting services even I would say yes. |
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