House is an 80s movie that very few people seem to have seen, yet it does seem to have somewhat of a following, at least on the internet. As far as genre goes, it's a horror-comedy, but if you were looking for it in a shop that arranges DVD/VHS by Genre, chances are it will be in the horror section. That's because it's a horror comedy in the vein of more Evil Dead 2 than Scary Movie, although neither it's horror nor comedy are as extreme as Sam Raimi's movie.

House follows horror novelist Roger Cobb (William Katt - Carrie), a 'Nam vet whose last few books haven't sold so well, but he has decided to take a break from horror and write about his memoirs of Vietnam. But Roger has experienced more than his fair share of trauma in his life. Upon returning from Nam, he and his family spent some time at his Aunt(Susan French - Fist of the North Star)'s house, where he grew up.
But disaster struck when his son Jimmy (played by Erik and Mark Silver in their only dual role) disapeared. Roger swears he seen him in the pool, but there is no sign of him anywhere.
Roger's life takes a turn for the worse, and he loses his actress wife Sandy(Kay Lenz - Death Wish 4) who can't handle his problems, despite the fact that they still stay in touch.
When his Aunt commits suicide, he moves back into the house to write the book on his experiences. He quickly attains the attention of fan and next door neighbour Harold (George Wendt - TV's Cheers) who thinks he is a little crazy, but is so nosy that he can't keep away from him.
But it's clear that things are far from normal in the house, and there are forces at work who want to put an end to more than Roger's writing career, Roger is going to have to face someone from his past, as well as the demons and trickery of the house if he wants to survive, but he also learns that he has something else to fight for in the twisted rooms of the house...

The plot in house is for the most part pretty well done, with very few glaring faults in the way of continuity or anything. In fact, the only fault I have, is that it never explains exactly what was the cause of the whole thing. A lot of people seem to say that it is down to the character whom Cobb faces in the end (don't want to spoil it), but personally I always felt it was more a case that the House was using that against him, I mean the character wanting revenge and kidnapping the son and so on is fair enough, but until his introduction you are given the impression that it there is something genuinely evil going on, and not just the revenge thing. And why would the character choose to haunt the house and not just Roger, given that he doesn't live there?
To the movie's credit, you don't really notice this until you actually put a lot of thought into it. Because for the most part the movie is just so fun and witty that you can't help but like it. Like I said, it is a horror comedy, but while the horror is more spooky than terrifying, and the comedy is often a little more subtle and not really laugh out loud stuff, but more smirk to yourself, it is on of the few movies that can claim to have pulled off both elements well.
For instance, examples of the creepy stuff include the tools in the shed attacking Roger, and the fat-monster that disguises itself as Sandy, which refuses to die, not to mention the monster in the closet.
But for each of them there is also an element of comedy, such as Roger forgetting the tools at a later point in the film, to open a door and be faced by them, the way Roger disposes of the last part of witch and the fact he digs out all his old Nam gear to first try and photo the closet monster, then trick Harold into helping him by claiming it is a giant racoon.

Acting in the movie is generally of a pretty high standard, if Katt and Wendt are the only characters/actors we see a whole lot of. Katt makes for a likeable hero, and plays it straight, but not too straight, he knows it's silly, but he also knows it's fun, and definitely plays a part in making it such. Wendt is essentially in his Norm from cheers role as the likeable, slightly cynical slob who you just can't help but enjoy watching.

The music in the movie plays a big part. We have some nice creepy music for the genuinely creepy scenes, but the makers also opted to add some music to heighten the comedy. For instance, when Cobb kills and tries to do away with the remains of Sandy's monster, it plays 'Dedicated to the one I love', it's just a comical juxtaposition, him seriously doing away with the remains of this beast, while this upbeat love song plays.

The special effects in the movie have aged to mixed degrees. The final nemesis and the closet monster still look great, but the witch hasn't aged all that well, and looks incredibly rubbery. However, for the most part they are still at least decent, and often above, especially when you take into account it's over a decade old and wasn't made on a particularly high budget.

One thing that no-one could accuse House of is being boring, it's constantly up to something to keep the audience's attention, via horror elements or comedy. On the whole, it's just a really fun movie, it isn't any sort of milestone of cinema history, but for fans of 80s movies, it's definitely an effective horror/comedy that doesn't let the viewer down. It was made by what could be called an 80s horror 'Dream Team', Directed by Steve Miner, who also directed the second and third Friday the 13th movies, written by Fred Dekker, of Monster Squad and Night of the Creeps fame produced by Sean S. Cunnigham, producer of the first, ninth and tenth Friday the 13th movies as well as Freddy Vs. Jason, and even had an uncredited producer in the 'legendary' Roger Corman (Humanoids from the Deep, amongst a plethora of other cheap horror credits), and music composed by the Friday the 13th series composer Harry Manfredini,House really couldn't go totally wrong.

At the end of the day, 4 stars is about right for House. While I would love to give it full marks, the whole cause debate I mentioned earlier just generally put me off a bit. But I would still recommend House to the majority of viewers, it's a little creepy, a little funny and a whole lot entertaining. Even if the ending is a bit 'feelgood', it's a great fun movie that fans of 80s cinema don't want to miss out on.

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children Age 13 and Older