Films about death and grief are always harrowing. The Night House takes those two elements, adds in horror, and brings it all to a disturbing, though somewhat disappointing, level.

In The Night House a woman’s husband has committed suicide and she is alone in her remote house in the forest. The widow is Beth, played by Rebecca Hall, and her husband is Owen, played by Evan Jonigkeit. As she processes Owen’s death, Beth discovers disturbing secrets that may have led to Owen’s suicide. With the help of neighbors, friends, and acquaintances, Beth must try to figure out whether Owen’s dark secrets played a role or not.

Rebecca Hall delivers a realistic, bordering on brilliant, performance in this horror flick, but her role was more of a solo performance and her acting was about the only thing that made the film enthralling. The rest of the film is clever jump scares and discoveries, but they are all over the place, happening at times that don’t add up, and there are periods where the movie is just plain boring. The Night House has the more common shock value of a horror or psychological thriller, but it is just an average film from my perspective. I believe the film’s failure was in its writing.

The Night House will likely find its audience, and I did find it intriguing at times, but it just did not grab my attention like I anticipated. I give The Night House 2-1/2 stars.