--- title: "His House" year: 2020 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/his-house" fi1m_id: "his-house" imdb_id: "tt8508734" tmdb_id: 575774 wikidata_id: "Q83826818" fi1m_score: 79 critics_score: 78 critics_reviews: 20 published: "2026-09-30T20:21:27.316012+00:00" updated: "2026-09-30T20:21:27.798162+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # His House (2020) Directed by Remi Weekes · 1h 33m · MPA NR · Horror, Drama ## Identity His House - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/his-house - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** his-house - **IMDb ID:** tt8508734 - **TMDB ID:** 575774 - **Wikidata ID:** Q83826818 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8508734/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/575774, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q83826818 **Fi1m score: 79** · Critics 78 from 20 reviews *In a sentence:* The Home Office gives them a house; the house already has tenants, and they came over on the same boat > Remi Weekes’s film puts a couple newly granted asylum in a house on an English estate where the walls talk. It is frightening, well acted and about something, and it explains itself too much near the end. We recommend it. ## Synopsis Bol Majur (Sope Dirisu) and his wife Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) cross the sea in a small boat with their daughter Nyagak (Malaika Wakoli-Abigaba). The boat goes over; Nyagak does not reach the shore. In England, the couple are given a house on an estate, a weekly allowance and conditions from their caseworker, Mark Essworth (Matt Smith): live here and nowhere else, take no work, take in no visitors. Bol wants to become English fast, buying the clothes and going to the pub. Rial keeps to the house and the past. Then Bol hears something behind the walls at night, and Rial tells him what she believes it is: a witch. ## Review Bol and Rial Majur have been given a house on an English estate. It comes with a weekly allowance and a caseworker, and they must live in it and nowhere else, without work or visitors. Remi Weekes, who writes and directs, has noticed that this is also the shape of a haunted house film: two people who cannot leave, in a building that wants them gone. *His House* is a good horror film and a better film about asylum than most dramas. It frightened us for most of its 93 minutes, and then, near the end, it explained what it had already shown us. The house is the first achievement. Jacqueline Abrahams’s production design gives it rubbish bags left by the last tenants, wallpaper coming off in sheets, bare wiring where a light fitting should be and a damp stain the size of a door. Jo Willems shoots the inside with the lights mostly off, faces lit from the street through the curtains, and the estate as flat brick under a white sky. Holly Rebecca dresses Bol (Sope Dirisu) in a polo shirt bought to match the smiling man on an advert, and keeps Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) in the printed dress and headwrap she arrived in. They stand in the same rooms and look as if they are in different countries. The frights are real ones. Bol hears something behind the plaster and takes a hammer to it, and the holes he makes become eyes. The witch Rial believes is with them is played by Javier Botet, a long thin figure who moves as if he has too many joints, and Weekes shows him a second at a time, usually where Bol is not looking. A scene at the dining table, Bol eating alone in the dark, frightened us in the plain, childish way we thought we had grown out of. Julia Bloch cuts these scenes slowly, holding a shot while the light changes rather than cutting on the shock, and that is why they work. Roque Baños’s score does not trust them to. His strings arrive on top of moments already doing the job, and twice they cover a quiet scene that wanted silence. Dirisu plays Bol as a man performing a part. He sings football songs in the pub, insists on knife and fork at the table, tells Rial to speak English, and lets you see the performance is the only thing holding him up. Mosaku’s Rial is the one who remembers. On the estate she asks three boys for directions and they tell her to go back to Africa. That moved us more than any of the ghosts did. It is a small, ordinary cruelty, and Mosaku takes it as someone who has survived larger ones does, with a nod and a walk away. Matt Smith, as the caseworker Mark Essworth, is tired and kind by rote, and plays it without irony. Nyagak (Malaika Wakoli-Abigaba), the couple’s daughter, drowned in the opening minutes, and her parents carry her differently: Bol wants to put her away, Rial wants her back. At night the walls open onto the water, and the dead in Bol’s kitchen are people from the crossing. For an hour the horror and the grief are the same thing, and the film does not have to say so. Then it says so. The last twenty minutes bring a reveal we will not describe, and having shown it once, Weekes shows it again in flashback and then has a character explain it. The story is credited to Toby Venables and Felicity Evans as well as Weekes, and the ending is tidier and less strange than the rest. We were not bored, but we were ahead of it, and we had not been ahead of anything until then. Set beside [*The Babadook*](https://film.one/film/the-babadook) and [*Under the Shadow*](https://film.one/film/under-the-shadow), this holds its own, and it has something they did not: an outside world as hostile as anything indoors. Watch it with the lights off. You will be checking the wallpaper for a week. *Fi1m score 79, published 30 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics like His House, and largely for the same two reasons. The first is the acting: Sope Dìrísù and Wunmi Mosaku are praised almost everywhere for keeping the hauntings rooted in ordinary grief and guilt. The second is the idea itself, a haunted house that stands in for what the couple carries with them from their crossing, which reviewers find gives the refugee story a force that plain drama would not. Several call it one of the stronger British horror debuts in years. The reservations are about balance. Variety finds the real-world drama more persuasive than the scares, which it thinks grow rote late on, and the Los Angeles Times calls the horror derivative and at times a distraction from the couple’s pain. Den of Geek faults a rushed, overburdened third act. The spread is narrow; only Eye for Film is properly negative, calling the film mediocre while still admiring the leads. ## Straight answers **Is His House worth watching?** *His House* is worth watching for anyone who wants a horror film that frightens and is also about something, and we scored it 79. Remi Weekes turns a couple's asylum conditions into the shape of a haunted house, and Sope Dirisu and Wunmi Mosaku carry it. Our one reservation is the last twenty minutes, which explain what the film has already shown us. **How long is His House, and what is it rated?** *His House* runs 1h 33m and is rated NR by the MPA in the US. It is a horror and drama film. **Where can I watch His House in the US?** *His House* is streaming on Netflix in the US. Availability is checked daily; the links above go straight to each service. **How violent or frightening is His House, and is it suitable for children?** *His House* carries no UK certificate, but it is a horror film for adults and we would not show it to children. The frights are sustained and real: a thin figure glimpsed in the dark, holes in plaster that become eyes, drowned people in a kitchen. The violence is mostly implied rather than shown, but a child's drowning in the opening minutes and the grief that follows make it heavy going for younger teenagers. **How does His House compare to Under the Shadow?** *His House* and [*Under the Shadow*](https://film.one/film/under-the-shadow) are close relations: each puts a family that cannot leave in a flat or house with something else living in it. Babak Anvari's film is the tighter of the two, while Weekes's has something it lacks, an outside world as hostile as anything indoors. Both lose a little nerve in their final stretch; *His House* explains too much, *Under the Shadow* reaches for familiar scares. **What should I watch after His House?** After *His House*, try [*Under the Shadow*](https://film.one/film/under-the-shadow) (2016, Fi1m 80): A mother and daughter in wartime Tehran, and something in the flat with them. Then [*The Babadook*](https://film.one/film/the-babadook) (2014, Fi1m 86): Grief in an Adelaide house that starts to answer back; the obvious cousin. ### Reviews we read (20) - **Little White Lies**, Anton Bitel (4/5/5): Bitel praises the film as a well-told, emotionally intelligent ghost story that gives refugee trauma urgent force. He singles out its shape-shifting hauntings and the way the house embodies the characters’ guilt and dislocation. [Read](https://lwlies.com/reviews/his-house) - **Empire**, Chris Hewitt (90/100, inferred): Hewitt gives the film a strongly positive verdict, calling it one of the best British horror debuts in years. He particularly praises the performances and the way the supernatural scares serve the characters’ emotional story. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/his-house/) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Leslie Felperin (85/100, inferred): Felperin calls the film a harrowing, bracingly creative debut and an effective horror story. She particularly praises the committed performances and the film’s skillful blend of jump scares with its deeper themes. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/his-house-1276185/) - **IndieWire**, David Ehrlich (B+): Ehrlich finds the film an urgent, spine-tingling ghost story that powerfully connects horror with the immigrant experience, despite rookie missteps. He praises the lead performances and the way the supernatural illuminates real-world hardships faced by asylum-seekers. [Read](https://www.indiewire.com/criticism/movies/his-house-review-netflix-1234595382/) - **Radio Times**, Emma Simmonds (4/5): The critic calls it a striking debut that gives the haunted-house story emotional and satirical heft. They praise the sensitive performances of Sope Dìrísù and Wunmi Mosaku. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-xpo06j/his-house/) - **Sight and Sound**, BFI (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a terrifying, unsettling ride with a compellingly ambiguous conclusion. They praise the nuanced performances and Weekes’s strikingly staged supernatural moments. [Read](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/his-house-remi-weekes-british-immigrant-haunted-house-horror) - **The Guardian**, Benjamin Lee (80/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a confident, compelling horror debut that refreshes the haunted-house genre with a timely human story. They praise its strong lead performances and its treatment of grief and survivor’s guilt alongside the supernatural haunting. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/jan/30/his-house-review-effective-haunted-house-horror-with-timely-spin) - **Time Out**, Phil de Semlyen (4/5): The review finds the film arresting and jolting. It praises how supernatural horror makes the refugee experience’s grief and trauma palpable. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/his-house) - **Vulture**, Bilge Ebiri (80/100, inferred): Ebiri finds the film an inventive, highly effective horror movie whose social themes deepen its emotional impact. He especially praises the unexpected scares and the performances’ convincing warmth, while noting that the story’s real-world dread remains unresolved. [Read](https://www.vulture.com/article/his-house-review-netflix-scary-new-horror-movie.html) - **The AV Club**, Anya Stanley (B): Stanley finds the film a unique, affecting haunted-house story that turns asylum seekers’ trauma into supernatural horror. She praises the lead performances and visual craft, while noting that the score distracts from tender moments. [Read](https://www.avclub.com/asylum-seekers-face-horrors-supernatural-and-not-in-the-1845491694) - **Slant Magazine**, Derek Smith (3/4): Smith finds the film’s blend of horror, drama, and folklore forceful and emotionally resonant. He particularly praises how its supernatural terror reflects the characters’ trauma and the challenges of displacement. [Read](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review-his-house-is-a-creepy-allegory-about-learning-to-live-with-trauma/) - **Screen Daily**, Tim Grierson (70/100, inferred): The available description presents the film as sophisticated British refugee horror. It singles out the film’s sophistication, but the review’s fuller praise or criticism is behind the paywall. [Read](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/his-house-sundance-review/5146718.article) - **Los Angeles Times**, Justin Chang (65/100, inferred): Chang finds the film a crafty but derivative blend of refugee drama and haunted-house horror, with its scares sometimes distracting from the characters’ trauma. He especially praises the lead actors’ wrenching performances and their complex interplay. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-10-29/his-house-review-netflix) - **Variety**, Jessica Kiang (65/100, inferred): Kiang finds the debut uneven but impressive, with its real-world refugee drama more persuasive than its supernatural horror. She praises the grounded performances and the film’s vivid depiction of refugee life, while finding the later scares rote. [Read](https://variety.com/2020/film/reviews/his-house-review-1203473963/) - **Paste**, Andy Crump (8.9/10): Crump finds the film touching, thoughtful, and relentlessly scary, strongly recommending its blend of immigrant experience and horror. He especially praises the tactile practical effects and the film’s emotional acuity. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/remi-weekes/his-house-review) - **NME** (85/100, inferred): The critic recommends the film as an impressive, socially conscious horror story. They praise Dìrísù and Mosaku for grounding its escalating supernatural scares in genuine pain and sadness. [Read](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/his-house-review-netflix-2803830) - **Polygon**, Robert Daniels (85/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a terrifying, fresh-voiced debut, though some elements do not work. They praise its inventive haunted-house scares and the way the setting gives form to the refugees’ trauma. [Read](https://www.polygon.com/2020/10/30/21542815/his-house-review-netflix-horror-movie/) - **Den of Geek**, Valerie Complex (3.5/5): The critic finds the film good but held back from greatness by a rushed, overburdened third act. They praise the lead actors’ emotional performances and the disorienting atmosphere that builds the horror. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/his-house-review/) - **/Film**, Slashfilmcast (65/100, inferred): The episode identifies His House as its feature review but gives no verdict in the page text. It singles out no specific element for praise or complaint there. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/577768/filmcast-ep-592-his-house/) - **Eye for Film**, Jennie Kermode (40/100, inferred): Kermode finds the film mediocre overall but still worth watching. She praises the lead performances and the attention given to forms of horror that are often overlooked. [Read](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/his-house-2020-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) ## Details - **Director:** Remi Weekes - **Director:** Remi Weekes - **Writer:** Remi Weekes - **Story:** Felicity Evans, Toby Venables - **Cinematography:** Jo Willems - **Editor:** Julia Bloch - **Music:** Roque Baños - **Production design:** Jacqueline Abrahams - **Costume design:** Holly Rebecca - **Producer:** Martin Gentles, Aidan Elliott, Arnon Milchan - **Cast:** Sope Dirisu as Bol Majur; Wunmi Mosaku as Rial Majur; Malaika Wakoli-Abigaba as Nyagak; Matt Smith as Mark Essworth; Javier Botet as The Witch; Yvonne Campbell as South Sudanese Woman; Vivienne Soan as Neighbour; Lola May as Nyagak's Mother - **Runtime:** 1h 33m - **Certificate (MPA):** NR - **Release (the US):** 30 October 2020 - **Genres:** Horror, Drama - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYY0QJhlXjc ## Where to watch in the US - Netflix: streaming *Checked 2026-09-30.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, AZ, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EC, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, ID, IE, IL, IN, IS, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PE, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Under the Shadow* (2016), Fi1m 80: A mother and daughter in wartime Tehran, and something in the flat with them — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/under-the-shadow.md) - *The Babadook* (2014), Fi1m 86: Grief in an Adelaide house that starts to answer back; the obvious cousin — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-babadook.md) - *Atlantics* (2019): Dakar, boys lost at sea, and the girls they left behind; quieter and stranger - *Dirty Pretty Things* (2002): London’s undocumented workers, a hotel, and a heart in a toilet; no ghosts, plenty of fear - *Dark Water* (2002): A damp stain on the ceiling of a Tokyo flat, and what it wants --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/his-house