Horror Movie Review: The Strange House – German: Das Schaurige Haus (2020)

There seems to be some confusion over the title of this film. In German it’s known as Das Schaurige Haus. However, IMDB lists it as “The Scary House & Netflix calls it The “Strange House”. I’m not sure why this is because Schaurige actually translates to “Gruesome” in English. Anyway, it’s a German horror film that was directed by Daniel Prochaska.

A recently widowed mother and her two sons move to an old rural house based in a remote village, situated on the border of Austria. It soon becomes apparent that the home they have moved in to harbours a dark, murderous mystery. Hendrik and his younger brother Eddi explore their new surroundings. They meet some unfriendly locals who take issue with them being from Germany. However, they soon meet Fritz and Sabine who show them a much warmer welcome. It’s not long before the group become friends. Also, Fritz reveals the dark past of the house. It turns out that the previous occupants had met an untimely end. A mother and her 2 sons had died due to being poisoned by some kind of slug based poison. Something that went unmentioned by the realtor when the family had just moved in.

Soon after, Hendrik starts to see glimpses of ghosts around the house. Also, Eddi begins sleepwalking and shows signs of being possessed by a spirit. Hendrik asks Fritz & Sabine to help and they agree to stay the night. It’s confirmed that Eddi has been possessed by the younger child that had died in the house. He leads the group to a secret area where they discover unexpected  information that sets them on their path to solving the mystery.

The Strange House is what you would call a horror film that is family friendly. It’s light hearted and the so called horror is extremely tame. For the seasoned horror fan, it won’t do much for you. It comes across very by the numbers, clichéd and generic. It’s full of predictable tropes and offers nothing that hasn’t been done before in the most basic terms. The characters are likeable but very stereotypical and you really learn little about them.

For example, Eddi feels like a character that is going to have some kind of importance. However, he’s actually a rather pointless character. He does nothing but get possessed. He even has a sort of storyline based on him having a pet slug but it goes nowhere. Talking of the possession, it’s handled strangely. Hendrik, Fritz and Sabine’s overall nonchalant reaction to witnessing said possession and ghosts in general is laughable. You’d think they encountered such stuff daily.

I found it hard to invest in the tame threat that the film offers because it quickly becomes clear that no one is in any actual danger at all. In fact, the ghosts are nice and simply want help. I genuinely hate any film that has ghosts that are friendly.

Still, the plot may be pretty basic but it at least makes sense and didn’t leave me confused at all. The film is shot well and has a fantastic soundtrack. It definitely gave me a Stranger Things vibe.

Overall, The Strange House is a fine little horror film. I could see it possibly being a movie to help introduce someone to the genre or one that the whole family can enjoy. Not one for anyone hoping for something gory, scary or original. Also, make sure you watch it in German because the dubbing is atrocious.