next up, a psychological horror, the night house. rebecca hall stars as beth, a teacher who is reeling from the sudden death of her husband, owen. she s left alone in the lakeside home that they shared, having vivid nightmares about a ghostly presence. rummaging around in owen s belongings, she finds sketches that tell a very strange story and tries to investigate while navigating her grief. there are plenty of effective scares in this film from director david bruckner, who helmed the rural horror, the ritual. figures flicker and loom in the shadows, and sudden sounds will have you jumping out of your seat. but the script also explores beth s internal fears. she is terrified to discover that she may not have known her husband as well as she thought. and she s also scared of her own mind.
it s a potent combination, and it requires an excellent actress to pull it off. luckily, rebecca hall is exactly that. i ve loved her in everything from ben affleck s the town to angela robinson s professor marsden and the wonder women. she even brought a touch of class to godzilla versus kong. as beth, she s mesmerising, darting between denial, confusion and gallows humour something that makes her colleagues visibly uncomfortable. after a terrific first two acts, the conclusion of the night house is convoluted and slightly disappointing. but i would still absolutely recommend this to horror fans who think that complex characters and psychological puzzles are just as important as bumps in the night. owen? it s in cinemas now.