When the novel House was released, it seemed like a complete wet dream for Christian fiction enthusiasts. Frank Peretti had given the genre it's balls back after it being very wimpy for a very long time (the last really brutal book offered being the Bible itself), and Ted Dekker pushed the envelope of what was allowable with his thrillers. So the book should have been a culmination of everything cool, dark, and edgy in Christendom's library. As it turned out, it was just another mediocre, mildly entertaining Christian horror novel. This was the instant in Dekker's career that I can point to when I want to remind myself when his writing began sliding south from intellectual and intense thrill rides to books that seemed to string together a lot of scenes that were simply, "Wouldn't this be badass as an effect in a movie? I mean, c'mon, floating rocks, man!" type of scenes. The book started strongly enough (which I could tell right off the bat meant that Peretti had started the story and left the ending to Dekker). The characters were fleshed out, there was mystery and creeps and some twists. Then it became more of a quick cut cat and mouse game that stifled my brain with the number of times they burst through a door only to find, drum roll please, ANOTHER creepy little room! Maybe a demon guy! Anyhow, this isn't about the book.
The last Christian thriller that was bestowed upon us was Thr3e, based on what is in my opinion, Dekker's best novel. I was pretty stoked to see this movie, but the absolutely horrid writing, effects, and acting ruined it for me. I tried to convince myself it was good and went a second time, towing my friends along. They hated me afterwards, and I understood. The ending that was so shocking and original on paper was hard enough to put on the screen, let alone when the task was given to actors that seemed to think that the last few minutes should be some sort of a comedy. Frank Peretti's last big screen adaption, The Visitation did not fare much better (although it was good enough to purchase on sale at Family Video, I'll give it that).
With these lackluster precedents in mind, I went to see House with a heavy heart and extremely low expectations. This was after all a film by Robby Henson, the same director that gave us Thr3e. But afterwards, I have to say that I was at least impressed.
First, let me address the acting. We have sort of a mix here of the good and the not so much. At times the actors can't seem to decide whether or not they are trained professionals. I liked Jack, who was for the most part, the hero. Reynaldo Rosales portrayed him decently. The others were just so so, and the Devil's Rejects stars Leslie Easterbrook and Bill Moseley did decent jobs as creepster demon killer people who also run inns for an evil serial killer apparently. Thus, while I still cringed a couple of times at the lines and the way they were spoken, it was not distracting me from the movie. This could be due to the fact that for the last month I have associated Christian entertainment with Fireproof, my pick for shittiest acting in a motion picture film this year (No I don't care that they were just volunteer church members, they still sucked. Even the be-all-end-all of evangelism, Mr. Kirk Cameron).
So with my fears about the acting somewhat pushed aside, I could focus on the direction. Overall, it was a vast improvement from Thr3e, which seems to tell me that Henson is more comfortable with tight spaces and odd angles, with a generous amount of super close-ups thrown in. It's shot like a cliche modern horror movie, which I honestly have no real problem with. It's sort of a cliche horror movie, so why not, right? Some of the camera angles made zero sense to me, though. At one point, the screen shifted entirely onto it's side to show us two of the characters walking down a hallway. For no reason other than to make us go, "Ow my neck, why is this happening?" Things like that cropped up a few times and took me out of the movie completely. I do have to say that some of the camera work was interesting. I'm thinking that this was either due to experimentation or accident. The aerial shot of a car driving at the films opening is so shaky and jittery that it made me nervous and even a little queasy for a second, which doesn't normally happen to me in movies. If they did this to invoke a sense of the characters fragile marriage and argumentative state, or of Jack's wreckless driving, or as a foreshadowing of the intensity to come, then I give them props. If it was, as I strongly suspect, due mostly to the lack of being able to afford a good steadicam for the chopper ride, then I'll at least give them Bob Ross points for happy accidents.
So the directing was pretty okay. I was beginning to be happy enough with this movie. Let's move on to the effects. This is where the movie really impressed me and actually boosted itself above many more mainstream horror movies in some ways. Allow me to explain. With most movies these days, we have lost the subtle art of traditional special effects. Everything is wiring and state of the art makeup and computer graphics. With House, I saw a return to some of the old school tricks that even brought to mind some scenes from The Shining. These were small things, like inverting a set and placing the camera just right so that it appears liquid is flowing up a wall and onto a ceiling, or using little wind tricks and quick cuts to portray something sinister is taking place. I have really missed these kinds of tidbits I loved noticing in the horror movies of yesteryear. I also think that the creators of House were smart in doing this because it seems as though they spent most of their budget getting the set and the few computer graphics they did need just right. Nothing looks cheesy or overdone here, and the last scene is actually sort of beautiful and ultimately disturbing to look at. Which is what I likes.
Finally, on to the story itself. For the first time in a long time, I think a movie adaptation has improved a little bit on the book. The seemingly endless and tiring cat and mouse game is here cut drastically, and gone is the tacked on ending that is so cheery it could have been written in Sunday school. What we now have is a much more fast paced psychological thriller with a twist ending that grew on me the more I thought about it. In fact, it seemed to line up with a theological idea I have read about that originated with some scholars in the Orthodox church. While I'm sure that this was coincidental and that the writers have never heard of the concept of afterlife Toll-houses and the tests souls may or may not go through at the hands of demonic forces in order to win a place in heaven, it still perked me up a bit. Overall, this movie really trimmed the fat of the story and added a lot of little extra treats. One that comes to mind is the character of Officer Lawdale, who has a much different role here than in the book which sort of threw me for a loop. I mean, there were of course problems with the story, but overall I liked it a lot. I also have to say that I enjoyed the fact that they did not beat us over the head with any sort of Christian message. Were we not given the mandatory Bible verse at the opening, this would have just been a surprisingly clean horror flick. It bothered me in the novel (and in most Christian novels at that) that these characters who have no real understanding of Christian beliefs and are scared out of their wits suddenly connect some vague metaphor or sacrifice on the part of another character to salvation through Jesus Christ. I mean, what?! That NEVER happens! If anything, maybe these characters will be changed through their experiences and be drawn towards the idea of Christianity because it offers answers, but they aren't going to see a little girl get murdered in order to save them and go, "Well golly gee, it seems as though she's the LIGHT in the darkness, and her BLOOD cures our sins. Honey, I think we are Christians now. Let's shoot this demon with our Jesus lasers and go never have problems again!" The movie didn't do that, and I am so thankful it saved me that huge grimace and made me feel a little bit less like an ass if I happen to recommend this flick to my non-christian friends.
I guess I'll say that House is not a really great flick. It's not going to draw much attention from the mainstream audience, even if it is rated R for whatever reason. It won't change the world of Christian cinema right away, and I don't think anyone's going to run to the nearest church to accept Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior as soon as the credits roll. But it does give me a small glimmer of hope for Christian cinema, and it is worlds above what both the horror and Christian film genres have had to offer recently.
B-
No comments:
Post a Comment