His House (Remi Weekes, 2020)

Bilge Ebiri's Vulture review of His House had me expecting the Sundance favorite to be "terrifying at just about every level." I'm chagrined to report that this tale of a Sudanese refugee couple settling into a haunted slum in London doesn't work as a horror film; it's largely a series of patience-draining jump scares. As a portrait of migrant PTSD, however, it's got plenty of bite. Bol (Sope Dirisu) and Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) must navigate an indifferent, when not outright hostile, England while attempting to live with a scarred past and their attendant struggle invokes a panoply of demanding spectres. No spoilers but anyone who can easily assign guilt to the couple's decisions while fleeing a war-ravaged country is no doubt judging from a quite comfortable position in their own house.

Grade: B+