Growing up in church, those who watched scary movies were under a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Sure, there were the terrifying Thief In the Night films that created a sobbing mess out of my youth group, but the thought of an actual “Christian horror movie” would be about as welcome as a bottle of “Christian whiskey.” 

 

Nevertheless, some with cable were treated to late night screenings of the best and worst Hollywood had to offer--Jason, Freddy, Pinhead, Michael Myers, The Lawnmower Man. Even those who didn’t watch them know the movies typically have some scary scenario with people wondering where they shouldn’t be and then encountering an unstoppable killing machine. Sometimes, these films even had thinly veiled moral elements with the mean-spirited and promiscuous being the first ones to meet their grisly ends.

 

House, a film that opened in theaters last Friday, and based on a book by authors Ted Dekker and Frank Peretti, is a bona-fide Christian horror movie. Directed by Robby Benson (Thr3e, Ghost Stories) the drama surrounds a squabbling married couple, Jack (Reynaldo Rosales) and Heidi (Stephanie Singleton), who get stranded in the woods after an auto accident. They stumble upon the house, which appears to be a creepy version of a bed and breakfast, and encounter another lost couple with their own problems and a freaky host family straight out of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Within moments, the four are running for their lives from a shadowy boogeyman called the Tin Man (no friend of Dorothy, for sure), who begins mentally torturing them over their past sins and abuses.

 

Going into the film with its origins in mind, it’s not a spoiler to know that good will eventually triumph over evil. Along the way, viewers are treated to frightful thematic and visual elements from The Shining, Saw and Se7en that, in a move that shocked producers, helped House earn an R rating from the MPAA. That alone is enough to make the large part of a typical church audience avoid the film at all costs. But one important thing it doesn’t have in common with those creep-fests is language, sexual situations or gore (the ax is swung, but it doesn’t connect).

 

The movie is hit-and-miss, unraveling a bit toward the end; not uncommon for a film of this type. With its moody cinematography and frantic editing, however, it has a chance to possibly become a sleeper hit with the horror crowd, an audience that probably wouldn’t otherwise see a film penned by Christian authors. Since they place more value on fear than big-budget effects or marquee talent, House has as good a chance as any to cross over. If it does, it will take with it subtle inspirational messages about facing fears, overcoming evil and extending forgiveness.

 

DeWayne Hamby is the book editor for Christian Retailing magazine and a reviewer for New Man. Visit his blog at www.dewaynehamby.com.