House of Darkness

Neil LaBute received high praise for the script of his first movie (which he also directed), In the Company of Men. In The New Republic, Stanley Kauffman called LaBute’s script “unusually fine.” In Variety, Dennis Harvey wrote that the film’s “greatest achievement is its sharply pointed dialogue.” Labute’s latest effort, a comedy horror movie entitled House of Darkness, has the same kind of cats-playing-with-a-mouse dynamic as In the Company of Men, but to me, it’s clear proof of how sharply his writing skills have deteriorated.

The movie stars Justin Long as Hap, who drives Mina (Kate Bosworth) home after meeting her at a bar. Hap is delighted when Mina invites him in. He believes he’s winning her over and hopes to end the night with a bang. In the huge house, they talk about if each is married, lying, a phone conversation Hap has with his friend, and other matters. The two kiss and seem on the cusp of having sex when they get interrupted.

LaBute was inspired by Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and it shows. He does a fine job of setting a spooky mood. The lights are out, and the dimness implies something ominous. One point the writer-director makes is that Hap is so determined to achieve his goal (having sex) he isn’t put off creepiness of the situation. He doesn’t see the danger of going to a woman’s house at night and being in a room lit by candles and firelight. He can only conceive of good things happening when he should have been concerned within a couple minutes of entering Mina’s manor, which has a gate that creaks startlingly as it opens.

But LaBute’s script is feeble. It lacks the occurrences that would have retained interest. LaBute moves the discussions around (Hap talks to Mina in the car, outside, and in the house), which helps a smidge, but there’s too much talk and not enough action, particularly because it’s so clear where the movie is going. Rather than employing twists that could create excitement, as in the 1972 comedy mystery-thriller Sleuth or the similar Deathtrap, LaBute keeps the wearying conversations going. Nor is LaBute’s dialogue witty or charming enough to be devilish fun. The dialogue isn’t painfully awful; it’s just doesn’t crackle like his script for In the Company of Men.

The screenplay fails in another way. LaBute doesn’t make the interactions meaningful. Had Hap been conflicted about his attempted seductions of Mina and, later, her sister Lucy (Gia Crovatin), and had the women been open regarding what would happen to him, there would have been an added a layer of intrigue. (Mina and Lucy don’t appear persuadable, yet it would have been more dramatic if he had a way out.) But Hap goes at the women full blast, and it’s obvious they’re going to respond in the same fashion after he realizes things may not go his way. So, there’s no mystery, and Hap can’t change his fate. What goes on at the end could have happened 70 minutes earlier. (House of Darkness would have been much better as a short movie.) The expanded conversations seem to exist so this would be a full-length film.

Justin Long carries the bulk of the dialogue load as Hap, and he does it agreeably. Hap is self-centered and a bit of a jerk (as his phone call to his friend reveals), but Long swaddles his talk with an affability that make him appear as a sweet guy, or so he thinks. That’s how he should be played, as someone who reckons he’s making headway when his verbal twistings when attempts to be appealing aren’t benefitting him. Long, I should say, portrays sitcom actor AJ Gilbride in the better-made (if overpraised) horror movie Barbarian, released on the same date. Kate Bosworth gives a diverting performance as Mina. When Hap says she’s “probably right” that he didn’t hear anything, Bosworth replies, with the right firmness, “No, I know I’m right.” Mina’s occasional deeply serious replies, which throw off Hap (suggesting she has the upper hand), and her playful laugh are ably acted. Gia Crovatin skillfully plays Lucy, differentiating herself from Mina, even though they have the same main characteristic (they’re both forthright). Crovatin’s Lucy is cooler and less elusive than Mina, and while she’s not in as many scenes as Long and Bosworth, she still makes an impact. Another attraction: Adam Bosage’s slow, sinister, unsettling music.

Some of the parts are there for entertaining show, but LaBute’s writing kills any chance House of Darkness has of reaching success.