Thanks for checking out our Forgotten Fridays feature. This is a feature to review some older films that maybe you have forgotten about or maybe never got around to seeing that we just want to share. They may not be old, maybe not forgotten, but they are not new. Just fun to share.
And being October, I wanted to focus on scary films. This one comes straight from the comments section and while this feature is designed to remind you of older films you may have forgotten, this time commenter David Lopan reminded me of a Forgotten film.
Today’s review is House
THE GENERAL IDEA
Roger Cobb is a Vietnam vet. Whose career as a horror novelist has taken a turn for the worse when his son Jimmy mysteriously disappears while visiting his aunt’s house. Roger’s search for Jimmy destroys his marriage and his writing career. The sudden death of his aunt brings Roger back to the house where his nightmares began. The evil zombies in the house force Roger to endure a harrowing journey into his past.
THE GOOD
This is a comedy horor, but where its horror its really dark, and the comedy is great too. Its a tough blend. William Katt (The Greatest American Hero) plays Roger, who’s son goes missing and it messes him up pretty bad. Rewatching this now as a father I really connected with that. I would be a mess too. Katt plays a man who has hit the bottom and it really does hit hard. There is some deep serious themes in this movie. The house is more than haunted, and the embodiment of that House is a creepy bloated old lady clown looking ..thing. That creature gave me the creeps.
There is a lot of comedy in it too, and George Wendt (Norm from Cheers) plays the neighbour, and we even get Richard Moll (Night Court) as well. This cast of three different 80s comedy classics work well together to bring some laughs to a pretty dark story.
THE BAD
The film has a lot of heart and dark themes but when you mix in the comedy it gets a little hokey. If you think of it as a comedy first it might help you deal with some of the silliness, but it can be a tough swallow if you go into it thinking its a horror.
Other than that, I love this movie. Its a little 80s dated, but it adds to the charm so I hesitate to use that as a Bad thing.
OVERALL
Its a fun silly comedy featuring some 80s minor icon staples, and worth the watch. I suggest adding this into your Halloween Horror marathon to stave of the therapy inducing nightmares a run of truly scary films will provide.
And while you might fall in love with this movie, I am going to recommend NOT watching any of its sequels. They get worse and worse as time goes on. In fact the third one is often considered to not even be a part of the series as it just stole the name for marketing and has no connection to the first two. In the 4th Katt returns to reprise his role just to die in a car accident and his widow and daughter return to the house. Terrible stuff.
I am going to introduce a new rating system for my Forgotten Fridays picks.
Since all of these Forgotten Friday reviews are going to be what I would already give a high rating to, I had a Tv, Rent or Buy scale going on, but it would seem that an overwhelming majority of my picks get a BUY rating.
So with every Forgotten Friday you see from now on, you get to rate your anticipation for yourself!
TV – If you are at least a little curious, catch it if it comes on TV.
Rent – If it is something you have heard of and forgotten, or just remember enjoying this as much as I did once upon a time, go rent it.
Buy – But if you are like me, and you agree with my review you should go buy it. If its featured here, I already have.
