Bol and Rial escape South Sudan, enter the British asylum system and discover that trauma has followed them into the wallpaper. FolknHell debate Remi Weekes's His House, its terrifying apeth and whether travelling folklore still counts as folk horror.
A grim English house, a Dinka night witch and three men immediately making the folk horror definition everybody's problem.
In Episode 28, Andy Davidson, Dave Houghton and David Hall discuss Remi Weekes's His House (2020), starring Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu and Matt Smith. Bol and Rial have survived war, displacement and a lethal crossing, only to be placed in a decaying home where the walls are noisy, the dead are restless and the asylum rules make moving out rather awkward.
The conversation gets into the film's refugee trauma, survivor's guilt and low-level bureaucratic nightmare, plus Bol's desperate push to assimilate and Rial's refusal to treat the past like unwanted luggage. There is plenty of admiration for the performances, the labyrinthine council estate, the watery footprints and one light-switch sequence that could have gone on all night, in the nicest possible appalling way.
Then comes the apeth in the room. Is His House folk horror because its terror grows from Dinka folklore and inherited belief? Or is it a psychological ghost story that happens to contain a witch? Dave and David say not quite folk horror. Andy says yes, then accepts defeat under protest and begins considering restraints!
Spoilers throughout. Watch the film first unless you enjoy having your moral devastation efficiently pre-delivered.
FolknHell Verdict
His House is not traditional, land-bound folk horror, but it has strong folkloric bones and makes a compelling case for folk horror that travels with displaced people. Whatever shelf it ends up on, all three hosts agree it is concise, intelligent, frightening and well worth watching, then arguing about long after the walls have stopped whispering.
Scores
• Dave Houghton: 7/10
• David Hall: 7/10
• Andy Davidson: 7.5/10
• Combined score: 21.5/30
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8508734/
• TMDb: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/575774-his-house
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/his_house
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/His_House
Content Warning: Spoilers throughout, with discussion of war, displacement, racism, refugee trauma, child death, drowning, grief, violence and disturbing supernatural imagery.
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