The House (III) (2022)
9/10
Darkly Funny, Yet Horrific Saga Of A Very Strange House (Mild Spoilers)
14 January 2022
One of the best animation films I've seen. All 3 parts are very competently directed, and the animation captures even subtle movements extremely well. The voice actors deserve special mention for being uniformly excellent. The story begins with a story set in what seems to be late Victorian England, with a mysterious man promising much to a young family without asking anything in return. The voice actors , Mia Goth and Eleanor De Swaef are so extremely sweet and expressive in this segment. The atmosphere is deeply unsettling and reminiscent of a story by E F Benson or Algernon Blackwood.

It leads into the second one , with a tonal shift regarding the time period. It deals with a young, harried developer trying to create this showpiece-type home to sell. The building is in shambles but he keeps trying to paper over the cracks. While this seemed a bit gimmicky compared to the first, what it shows and what it reveals will leave you thinking for days after. Though one of the scenes made me wonder if the director was hinting at an immigrant intrusion, and I hope not, because it is a brilliant short otherwise. The third one is far more benign on the surface than the others and seems to hint at a happy ending, but then this house is not what it seems. This part had some beautiful scenes in the end on par with a Ghibli movie.

I both liked and disliked the mysteriousness of the house and its origins, keeping in mind how sinister some of the scenes are. It's one of the most engaging films Netflix has ever made and is a must watch.
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