The House Guest Review from TetroVideo!
It doesn’t seem that long ago that I was reviewing a film which involved underground legend, Domiziano Cristopharo, and before that it may have been a short time prior to that. Like a never ending sausage machine. Movie after movie spits out, and none really falter in quality either. Like I said in my review for eROTik (see review of eROTik here), he truly cares about the underground and he grabs as many people as he possibly can to jump on the runaway train with him. We’re all gonna probably crash in the end and be mangled, torn, gouged, and probably be ravished by whatever creatures wander the site of the crash, but so what? With Domiziano leading the way, it’s going to be fun and eye-opening, whatever happens.
This time around, he’s solo again, and put this one together whilst under quarantine. The House Guest is a deeper more claustrophobic world — a side of his imagination so far unseen at this scale. Our main guy is looking into his bathroom mirror. He is narrating about the two people that exists in the reflection. The one we see, that we think we know, and the one under the surface “the one that tells you evil things. The one you will never meet.”
The House Guest commences with our central character, Daniel. He arrives to his new home with two boxes and whilst taking in the sunny sky and the sound of birds in his roof garden, some plant pots move by themselves. He frowns and wanders over to check. Nothing out of the ordinary. Next up, he’s dragging a trunk he’s found down the stairs which, for now, we are not welcome to observe the contents. After a restless night’s sleep in a new bed, he sets about cleaning and decorating, accompanied by some funky Italian pop music. As he does so, he finds a secret hatch in the wall, and then a container with keys inside.
Over dinner, the unknown trunk is puzzling him, then he thinks about the set of keys. Nope, doesn’t fit. Ah well. Sitting back down, he’s puzzled again to discover his half-full bottle of water is now empty. As night falls and he gets ready to retire, he’s alarmed when he glimpses a person ducking behind his bed in the darkness. He nervously checks underneath. Finally grabbing the chance to lay in bed and read, a load of dogs begin a twilight chorus line outside his home. This poor lad cannot get any rest. As he looks through the window they all stop. Once again his sleep is disturbed by dreams that night.
The next morning he takes to the trunk with a hammer and discovers loads of clothes inside, plus a Dictaphone, hand mirror, some cool paperbacks, and a note which speaks of the other side and reflections. Leafing through a notebook filled with sketches, the hounds begin once again outside. Nothing to be seen. His first task is putting new batteries into the Dictaphone.
“She keeps me trapped here.” the desperate panicked voice has spoken of not knowing how long he has been trapped in the house. He cannot leave. “She….. the house….” The voice also says that “he” lives in the cellar of the building. That edifice has a lot of history it transpires and as the man speaks, he becomes more erratic, talking about the sound of water he can always hear.
Waking up to someone knocking at the door, Daniel is in the dark. He opens up and sees no one, but the moving shadow of a man that he follows into the dank grim cellar. He falters nervously mid-way down the steps and decides against such a venture. As he leaves we see a pair of glowing inhuman eyes in the blackness.
What follows is a descent into hallucinations, dreams, and just weird things happening around him that at times totally annihilates your vision as Daniel uncovers more about what lurks in the house and about the previous occupant. It’s no exaggeration to claim this film contains perhaps one of the freakiest meltdown sequences in film history, even up against Street Trash and Body Melt. On the budget The House Guest was constructed upon, it defies belief.
The film has been put together at Domiziano’s home and I’m jealous of the remarkable view he sees from the roof. I’m jealous of the character of the building as well. Anyhow, I digress. The House Guest is low on cast, low on budget, but almost beats eROTik as his masterpiece in eerie disturbing material. It’s like watching a creepy late night TV movie. It jabs a finger in the faces of all directors and produces a blueprint as to how to use your imagination.
The House Guest is basically everything a real horror film should be! Slowly building up the tension and story, in a way that does not drain the viewer. So much seems to be happening, yet nothing much actually happens for the first half. However, the pace and essence of the film likes to unravel tiny pieces now and then correctly to pull you in further and further. Domiziano’s power is within a film using a small cast, one person maybe two because he has the incredible skill of directing the surroundings and turning whatever building used into a character, such as how Kubrick made the Overlook Hotel breathe and live, and how Paul WS Anderson gave birth to the Event Horizon which was every bit a real terrifying space creature though it was a starship.
Fluidly moving like silken moments in a dream world, this is an artwork as many of his movies are. One thing becomes very clear as well, Athanasius Pernath sure does love making puss filled boils explode. I’ve seen it so many times in previous flicks, it’s a speciality. This time around it occurs in a very energetic, almost Poltergeist-inspired moment in front of a mirror. Graphic and very juicy with chunky bits.
I cannot stress enough how wonderful The House Guest is because it holds your attention for such a duration of time and has only one central character. Domiziano himself appears at one point as a postman sucking a lolly (Lisa and the Devil anyone?) but above and below it all, Daniele Arturi is a solitary man against the onslaught of terrors. The postie is actually an important piece of the puzzle as he informs Daniel of a few things.
Daniele is a marvellous actor, holding up his end of the film bargain and not allowing your attention to drift away at any time. I would simply love to see both he and Adam (eROTik) Western in a Domiziano film together because they are a duo of ridiculously cool talents and Domiziano uses them correctly for this kind of material. It takes a lot for one person to control nearly 90-minutes of tense atmosphere.
Keep this in mind, before sitting down to begin watching this, I decided to go on YouTube and relive two of my favourite music videos ever. First by a group called Soulsavers (featuring Mark Lanegan) and then one by supreme Italian pianist, Ludovico Einaudi. I hadn’t stopped by either of these videos for at least three years maybe (surprising since I play Ludovico’s works on a regular basis. I feel these vids popped in my head today for just this reason). Why am I adding this here? Well, if you happen to have a jump through these links: Soulsavers – Revival and Ludovico Einaudi – Life, you’ll maybe figure out how just by the first scene in The House Guest and those subtitled words, I was gripped. I was in the zone man, totally. It’s that kind of flick. Listen to some music, maybe some ominous piano, dim the lights and enjoy.
The House Guest is highly recommended and if anything was obviously a great way to keep busy during lockdown in Italy. It is for lovers of modern horror tales, and of the old school. As always, the spirit of Bava, Fulci, and many others can be noticed channeling what is seen before you. So, a lesson to be learnt is this: if by chance the same things start to happen to you, don’t be like Daniel and stick around, just get the hell out of there ASAP!
Directed by: Domiziano Cristopharo | Written by: Domiziano Cristopharo | Produced by: Domiziano Cristopharo | Cinematography by: Domiziano Cristopharo | Editing by: Domiziano Cristopharo | Music by: Domiziano Cristopharo | Special Effects by: Athanasius Pernath | Cast: Daniele Arturi, Domiziano Cristopharo | Year: 2020 | Country: Italy | Language: Italian (English Subtitles) | Color: Color | Runtime: 1h 23min
Studio: The Enchanted Architect
Distributor: TetroVideo
