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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Will Lee and producer Ian Hedman’s Her House premiered at Fantastic Fest in the past week, and it’s surely a nice horror short to shake some movie-goers. The film follows young woman Gina (Taylor Joree Scorse) and her mother Helen (Gloria Gruber) as they enter Gina’s late grandmother Jane’s (Lexa Gluck) home at night after her funeral service. Her House uses only one set piece with Hedman’s help as the production designer, hence the film’s title. The horror short is a narrative bridging opposites through Jane’s home chimney. What results from this fine story is a fun viewing experience if nothing else.
Her House is written by Hedman and Lee and is directed by Lee.
In this review, I will discuss Her House. As this article’s title suggests, no spoilers will be present.
Discussion
Hedman’s work as a producer, co-writer, and production designer along with Lee’s work as a co-writer, director, and editor make for a swell foundation that holds Her House in place. The room in which characters enter seems so simple, and it could be due to cinematographer Rafael Gomez’s camera work. Conversely, Hedman’s construction of both a fireplace and a chimney adds more dimension to the location setting. The art direction offers sweet details without every trying to overdo itself. It just asks that viewers follow the light.
Furthermore, the set decoration of the marijuana joint in the trinket box is a neat addition to the set piece. It complements the peculiarity to the co-writers’ story. Even the unkempt doll and the book for devil worship are subtle elements that tease what is bound to occur. They suggest that Jane’s house isn’t just some house but rather a place that is a little more sinister. The framed photographs and the wall on which they lean come off as a tad cheap. Yet, they are to be ignored when the rest of the short is worth watching.
I appreciate the subtle nods to what’s going on in the story outside of Gina being brought to her grandmother, separating the young woman from her own mother. The ash on her head when she exits the fireplace is a good nod to the dead (Debora Jan Gray) grabbing her from the chimney. When Jane is seen brushing her doll’s hair, on a second viewing it gives off the impression that the doll is implicitly used for voodoo, almost like how it was in Longlegs. The photo of Jane and young Helen together is an interesting image. This is especially so with Helen’s face being effaced from the photo with scratches and a sticky note.
Chimney
Most importantly, what makes Her House succeed as a horror story is the symbolism behind the chimney. This extension of the fireplace could serve as a bridge, a tunnel, or some other pathway that separates one entity or realm from another. Gina is pulled from her present and is taken to the past. To be drawn to an Other is creepy enough as it is. Although, the chimney is also emblematic of a separation between dualities, e.g. sanity and insanity, darkness and light, safety and danger, life and death, and quite literally a child and her mother. This juxtaposes excellently when Lee edits the end of the film, where he match cuts from Gina and Helen at night to the new homeowners during the day.
The imageries of reality and the fantastical are not too difficult to identify. If anything, Gina’s blunt is a fascinating representation of the chimney and its function. Obviously, both the blunt and the chimney are known to blow out smoke. However, viewers could also take that as a liminal step between sobriety and a sort of intoxication. Gina starts the short film in the present with her mother. Then, the chimney transports her to a different time within the confines of Jane’s house. Her experiences with her grandmother’s younger self changes how she sees Jane as a person, and it only makes greater sense with deeper reasoning in mind.
The Crew Behind Her House
Rafael Gomez serves as the Director of Photography for the Fantastic Fest horror short. Vince Capparell and Sarah Winters serve as the BTS photographers.
Lee is the film’s editor.
Marc Giguere scores the music for the film. Roman Chimienti is the sound designer & mixer.
Hedman serves as the production designer.
Katie Keyser is the SFX makeup artist.
The Cast of Her House
Taylor Joree Scorse portrays Gina, the protagonist of the film.
Gloria Gruber portrays Helen, Gina’s mother and Jane’s daughter.
Lexa Gluck portrays Jane, Helen’s mother and Gina’s grandmother. Debora Jan Gray plays Dead Jane.
Faye Tamasa and Skyler Okerstrom-Lang appear as a couple in a relationship.
Performances and Character Developments
The main trio of women actors do well bouncing off of each other’s performances. However, I cannot help but be attracted to how Scorse presents Gina. The character is a young woman who is curious to know her deeper roots, coming from her mother who came from her mother. She comes to understand that Helen is trying to prevent generational trauma. Helen gets praise for that apparent fact, unless the story hints otherwise. Gina’s scene at the end where she struggles with Jane is one of the more intriguing moments of Her House. It feels a bit supernatural to see, but I can see where Lee and Hedman were going with that.
Lexa Gluck as Jane—and even in general—is just so gorgeous to see on screen. She appears to have minor character roles in her acting credits, e.g. Beautiful Woman #2 or Vermillion #3 and 6. Yet, with Her House, it does seem as if Gluck is making the most out of the troublesome mother/grandmother. Jane is undoubtedly a horrid parent figure, and what is shown on screen just renders her an irresponsible human being overall.
Final Thoughts on Her House
Will Lee and Ian Hedman lead a decent horror short under a runtime of twelve minutes. There is not much left to say about this film that would take a feature to articulate. The idea is elementary, and the presentation of that is as succinct as possible. My only note is that bringing the co-writers’ screenplay to life could have utilized more resources to truly allow Her House to be haunting. Aside from that, there really isn’t anything too wrong with it.
3.5/5 stars
Her House!
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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
