When the first HOUSE film came out I was working as a
manager for Loews Theaters. At that time a lot of horror films were coming out
seemingly churned out following a set pattern. But HOUSE was different. It was
original and did a fantastic job of combining scares with laughs, something
that’s not easily achieved. So when I heard Arrow Video was bringing the movie
out on blu along with the first sequel I was pleased to hear it.
The first film tells the story of Roger Cobb (William Katt),
a horror author dealing with a combination of problems. He’s in the midst of a
writer’s block, has recently separated from his wife and still dealing with the
disappearance of his young son. To add to this his aunt has hung herself in her
home and Roger moves into her old house.
While in the house strange things begin to happen. Roger
sees things from his recently deceased aunt to an old buddy he served with in
Vietnam. A creature appears in a closet. He eventually must face his fears, the
real reason all of these events are happening. Helping him out in a minor role
is his neighbor Harold (George Wendt). Will the house cause Roger to dive off
the deep end following in his aunts footsteps or will he be able to face those
fears?
The movie takes on some serious issues with most of Roger’s
problems stemming from a case of PTSD taken to an entirely new level. The
Vietnam scenes are the weakest due in large part to the restrictive budget for
the film (it was made by New World Pictures, Roger Corman’s company) and look
more soundstage than anything. But that low budget also led to some incredibly
creative moments as well. The acting is incredibly good, especially Katt in the
lead role. Wendt adds some comic relief here and also ties into something about
the second film.
HOUSE II: THE SECOND STORY takes us down a completely
different path. This time around a young man named Jesse (Arye Gross) moves
into an old house left to him by his grandfather (Royal Dano). But odd things
begin happening here just like the first film except this time they’re tied to
an ancient Aztec crystal skull and the fact that grandpa may be dead but he’s
stuck in limbo. So the Wendt tie in? This time around helping Jesse, along with
his friend Charlie (Jonathan Stark), is a repairman/part time adventurer played
by John Ratzenberger. Ratzenberger and Wendt were the two best friends and
barflies in the hit TV series CHEERS.
More HOUSE films followed but none had the success of the
first two. Arrow has released a box set of all of them available in the UK but
the rights to the various others are tied up here in the states. Thus we get
this great box set with just the first two films in the series.
As always is the case, Arrow Video has gone to great lengths
to make sure fans get the best possible versions of these films available. Both
offer 2k restorations as well as a wealth of extras. For the first film they
include the House Companion limited edition 60 page book, audio commentary with
director Steve Miner, producer Sean S. Cunningham, Katt and screenwriter Ethan
Wiley, DING DONG YOU’RE DEAD a brand new making of documentary, a stills
gallery and theatrical trailers.
For the second you’ll find audio commentary from
writer-director Ethan Wiley and producer Sean Cunningham, IT’S GETTING WEIRDER
a brand new making of documentary, a stills gallery and the theatrical trailer.
As a fan of the series this combination of a solid looking
edition of the films combined with the extras made it one I definitely wanted
to add to my collection. It becomes yet another of those movies tossed aside by
studios intent on paying loving attention only to what is current while
ignoring their backlog of titles they’re too busy to consider releasing. But
that’s fine as long as companies like Arrow exists who will offer films like
these to us in the most loving fashion possible. There are 3-4 companies doing
this now and Arrow for me is the best among them. A box in the mail from them
is a moment of pure joy. And owning this copy of these films should bring joy
to fans of both.
Click here to order.
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