Film Preview: The Night House (2021)

Film Poster

Page Revisions:

(May 9, 2021) Original
(August 1, 2021) New Trailer (#2) — New Release Date (changed from 7/16/21)

Release Date:

August 20, 2021

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “A widow begins to uncover her recently deceased husband’s disturbing secrets.”

Poster Rating: C+ / B- / C

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Review: (#1) The see-through hand is the most interesting element in this design. The colors are commonplace, but handled modestly well. (#2) Again the same color scheme, but still well placed and the image is simple and somewhat evocative. A compositionally solid arrangement. (#3) This design isn’t terribly inventive or otherwise appealing. It’s a dull set of colors with few intriguing details.

Trailer Rating: A- / C-

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Review: (#1) While some trailers need narrative details to give the audience something to latch onto, this trailer does little with that and still manages to create an air of mystery that pulls the audience in. A fascinating approach that works surprisingly well here.

(#2) With such a compelling first trailer, the 180-degree turn to this predictable, rote horror design suggests the producers aren’t quite sure how to sell the film and they think that looking like every other worthless haunted house film is the way to draw an audience. It isn’t.

Oscar Prospects:

Could this be one of the rare inventive horror films that can nab a Best Actress nominee? Rebecca Hall has been circling Oscar nominations before in critically-favored roles, but the Academy’s aversion to horror has kept many actresses from securing nominations for such. Even Emily Blunt couldn’t ride the wave of popularity of The Quiet Place to an Oscar nomination, so I doubt the less “overdue” Hall is going to have a steeper hill to climb.