Review: British thriller 'His House' is a smart, disturbing tale of refugees and the ghosts they carry with them

Writer-director Remi Weekes’ assured debut, “His House,” is a gripping suspense thriller about the demons we have to defeat and the ghosts we have to accept.

The Majurs, Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaka), have left their home in South Sudan as refugees, where their tribe was being massacred in a civil war. They survived a treacherous crossing of the Mediterranean, in which their daughter drowned en route. Now they have been given asylum in the United Kingdom, in a rundown rowhouse outside London, under tight regulations that include weekly check-ins with their caseworker, Mark (Matt Smith, of “The Crown” and “Doctor Who”).

Settling in is not too easy for the couple. Some of this is dealing with their new life in England, like when Rial gets lost in her new neighborhood and are harassed by some Black teens who tell her to “go back to Africa.” 

The bigger problem, though, comes as Bol hears bumps and noises in the walls, and soon realizes there’s something looking at him. Actually, several somethings. All of them tie back to the Majors’ escape from South Sudan, and a secret that haunts them more literally than they realize.

Weekes, who debuted this film at this year’s Sundance Film Festval, turns his simple horror tricks into a brooding meditation on the Majurs’ disorientation at their new home and the survivors’ guilt that lingers because they made it there. Weekes’ imaginative staging of what’s tormenting Bol and Rial creates one of the most chilling atmospheres I’ve seen in a while.

Dirisu, who started in Cinemax’s “Gangs of London” and AMC’s “Humans,” neatly captures the spirit of someone determined make a home and conquer every obstacle, including his memories. He’s well matched by Mosaku, who just wowed fans of HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” playing the blues singer Ruby, and here conveys Rial’s conflicting emotions with an economy of gestures. With Weekes, the two leads make “His House” an emotionally devastating place to stay.

——

‘His House’

★★★1/2

Available starting Friday, October 30, streaming on Netflix. Not rated, but probably R for terror, violence, disturbing images and some language. Running time: 93 minutes.