There’s Something Rotten in the House of Spoils (FANTASTIC)

Title: House of Spoils

First Non-Festival Release: October 3, 2024 (Digital/Streaming Platforms)

Director: Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy

Writer: Bridget Savage Cole, Danielle Krudy

Runtime: 101 Minutes

Starring: Ariana DeBose, Barbie Ferreira, Arian Moayed

Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here

This film’s review was written after its screening at the Fantastic Film Festival in 2024.

After cutting her teeth under the prestigious Chef Marcello (Marton Csokas), a Chef (Ariana DeBose) gets the chance to open a restaurant with her friend and investor Andrea (Arian Moayed). After losing everything to take the job, the Chef finds that something is off about the mansion where they are set to open. As various creepy happenings unsettle her throughout her stay, the Chef struggles to maintain her sanity.

House of Spoils is a middling supernatural drama that fails to capitalize on its interesting premise.

With all the trappings of a typical haunted house horror film, House of Spoils puts extra emphasis on the relationship between food and life. As the Chef wonders why her kitchen repeatedly ends up in disarray, she discovers that integrating the local wildlife brings something special to her dishes. Ecstatic about the opportunity to cook something without it immediately rotting, the Chef finds her joy for cooking returning. This relationship with nature is intertwined, not only with the Chef’s disillusionment with the industry but also the ghostly happenings on the property spoiling her food in the first place.

[SPOILERS]

It’s clear that the film wants to marry together the persecution of witches with the sexism women face in the restaurant industry. This is a great starting point for the film to explore how the Chef has to work twice as hard as others to prove herself, not only as a woman but a Black woman. The Chef is more than capable of holding her own but is simultaneously disregarded as qualified by some and not meeting her full potential as a cook by others. At every point of House of Spoils, she is either challenged, condescended to, or double crossed. These ideas permeate through the film paralleling the treatment of the witch that haunts the grounds.

It all falls apart in the third act when the witch’s motivations are revealed and completely dissolves the suspense that is built. A healer at heart, one of the witch’s ceremonies was overseen by a confused and bigoted local who went on to defame her. Then, after being hunted by the townspeople and forced into hiding underground, she suffocates in a tunnel before she has a chance to escape. Years later, this witch decides to latch onto the Chef, whom she feels worthy of continuing her legacy as a healer through her cooking.

The backstory is fine enough, but House of Spoils doesn’t know how to tie it all together in a meaningful or consistent manner. Leaving more questions than answers about the witch’s motivations of terrifying the Chef or driving others on the property crazy, the tonal shift when The Chef stumbles upon this revelation is laughable. Sucking the tension and mystery out of the film like the gasp of a witch buried alive, House of Spoils then goes on to a painfully saccharine sequence of the Chef preparing a raw bonfire inspired dinner from spoils of the earth. Sure, this emanates plenty of healing energy and deviates from the typical trappings of supernatural revenge, but the buildup isn’t sufficient, and the payoff isn’t there for the film.

[/SPOILERS]

Ariana DeBose anchors the film with her tough yet vulnerable performance as the Chef. Throughout the film, DeBose’s Chef is on the verge of a mental breakdown. From feeling pressure from her manic investor, training up the novice locals to work in fine dining, pushing back on her own self-doubts, and confronting a supernatural presence that is hellbent on ruining her food, she has a lot going on at the moment. DeBose embodies all of this, immersing herself in the horror of her life crumbling to pieces around her, while giving the Chef a steely veneer of confidence.

Aside from DeBose, House of Spoils benefits from the trappings of an adequate Blumhouse budget, as the set design particularly enhances the story. Ignoring its contrived location explanation, the house behind House of Spoils looks both magnificent and spooky. The charm exudes from the screen, giving credence to the idea that the well-to-do would travel miles upstate to experience a unique evening of fine dining. Its sprawling estate and many locations allow for House of Spoils to expand the geography outside the kitchen and give DeBose the ability to breathe, especially when she carries so many scenes alone.

As daring as the deconstructed Caesar salad it lampoons, House of Spoils is a mediocre supernatural horror affair that fails as both a drama and a horror film. DeBose’s steady performance and solid production values can’t save House of Spoils from its flimsy script and muddled attempt at social commentary. Maybe a few less “Yes, Chefs!” could have saved House of Spoils from the safety of its ideas.

Overall Score? 5/10