Ya know… I keep coming back to this site sporadically and it’s kinda nice. I mean, I have surely lost the few followers I had and I feel zero pressure. It’s like a “there when I need it” outlet for discussing my hobby – watching horror movies. (is that a hobby? seems like a pretty passive one if so) Anyway, I’m writing another review. I’m not saying I’m back. Because in all honesty, I’m for sure going to get distracted with other things in life – both important and unimportant (Fortnite) – and this blog will go dark once again. But you’re not here for my jibber jabber. You’re here for the sweet, sweet reviews. Want to know what I thought about The Deep House? Let’s get into it, shall we?
Ben and Tina are content creators (presumably YouTube). Their particular specialty is abandoned places and modern ruins. Ben is the driving force of the two but Tina admits that adventuring has grown on her. In his quest to produce a video that reaches 1mil views, Ben plans a trip to a valley that was dammed and flooded. He wants to scuba dive among the underwater houses there. Turns out the spot is a family swim/vacation destination now and it’s unexpectedly crowded. Besides, the houses were destroyed before the flood, contrary to popular belief. Luckily, the couple runs into Pierre, who offers to guide them to an intact house he knows in an out-of-the-way branch of the lake. Turns out that despite being a bit of a creepy vibes ogler, he wasn’t lying. The two gear up and dive in. The house is weirdly secured with welded metal plates over the doors and bars on all the windows. Well, not all the windows. The attic window is unbarred and unlocked. The room is predictably spooky but things get worse from there as they descend to the other floors and, ultimately, the basement. The duo ends up getting in way over their heads (eyebrow waggle)! The place is not uninhabited! Will they be able to escape the murderous residents before their air runs out?
I am not personally a fan of protagonists who are assholes. Not generally anyway. And Ben is an asshole. He’s ridiculously ambitious in his drive to get those million views considering his most watched video to date hasn’t come near 7 figures. He goads Tina along when she balks at dangerous or scary activities by telling her how sure he is that this is the thing that is going to push their video to the next level. And he does it several times. Of course, Tina is a grown-ass woman and has agency but she loves the guy despite his mean-spirited pranks and selfish drive to get views at all costs. That’s not a deal breaker though. You could definitely make an argument that Ben isn’t even the protagonist. As the “director” of the video, Tina is featured more prominently overall. Either way, the couple’s struggle to survive their unique ordeal is very thrilling indeed. And I don’t use the term “unique” arbitrarily. I’ve certainly never seen an underwater haunted house story before! (well, it’s not haunted in the traditional sense but I’ll go ahead and call it that to simplify and avoid spoilers) That’s the strongest asset this film has going for it. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just the coolest thing. The sense of dread is pervasive and the looming threat of running out of air raises the stakes exponentially. In fact, that threat does a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to instilling fear and anxiety in the audience. Whether consciously or subconsciously, we are always aware that this is a hostile environment that poses a very real threat beyond the spectral one. The combined threats make for an effective horror film despite some minor triteness here and there.
The Final Cut: The Deep House is a unique haunted house film that makes good use of its setting to keep viewers on the edges of their seats.
No Real Danger 