House of Spoils – Movie Review | Prime Video (3/5)

HOUSE OF SPOILS on Prime Video is a genre-bending thriller with elements of horror and fantasy. A real mindf**k with Oscar-winner Ariana DeBose starring. Read our full House of Spoils movie review here!

HOUSE OF SPOILS is a new Prime Video horror thriller out in time for Halloween 2024. For years, Blumhouse and Prime Video have paired up for Spooky Season with “Welcome to the Blumhouse”. This year is no exception.

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Be sure to check out Totally Killer from 2023 >

I can imagine this won’t be everyone’s cup of tea. For one, I loved it while my proverbial partner-in-horror-loving-crime [the editor of Heaven of Horror] was more on the fence about it. The runtime is 1 hour and 41 minutes.

Continue reading our House of Spoils movie review below. Find it on Prime Video from October 3, 2024.

“Bring your appetite”

The tagline for House of Spoils is “Bring your appetite” and when the movie opens, this makes sense. However, this changes as soon as we get to the title “character”.

As revealed in the trailer (and the title of this movie), everything seems to spoil in the place, where our lead character is about to open her own restaurant. As a very ambitious chef (known only as “Chef”) this is a nightmare.

Instead of preparing to open her own farm-to-table restaurant in a cure house on a remote estate, it’s all falling about.

Everything is getting to her. From the typical kitchen chaos (like any episode of The Bear) to a dubious investor and even crushing self-doubts. And then there’s the matter of the history of this place, which may involve a witch.

Very fitting for a horror story released in the month of Halloween. Not ideal for a fine dining restaurant that people must travel to get to.

Ariana DeBose is The Chef

I, admittedly, adore Ariana DeBose, who won an Academy Award (among many other awards) for her role in Steven Spielberg’s 2021 adaptation of West Side Story. However, I had no idea how much I would enjoy seeing her in this one.

House of Spoils is a true mindf**k for both viewers and the main character of “Chef” portrayed by Ariana DeBose. You may also have seen Ariana DeBose in genre movies such as the 2023 sci-fi thriller I.S.S.

To me, she delivers a very believable take on a chef who has worked in a kitchen for years and is ready to be in charge. She’s used to working in male-dominated kitchens and has taken on that tough exterior to make it.

Also delivering a strong performance is Barbie Ferreira (Euphoria, Nope) as a young chef, who wants to impress, but not at any cost. In other key roles, we see Arian Moayed (Succession), Marton Csokas (Cuckoo), and Amara Karan (T.1.M.).

Watch House of Spoils on Prime Video!

House of Spoils is the second feature film from Writers and Directors Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy. They previously co-directed Blow the Man Down.

House of Spoils is a tense thriller with dark fantasy elements that lend it a distinct horror air. The psychological and sensuous elements that drive the story worked for me.

However, I must acknowledge that since my co-viewer and I didn’t agree on it, it may divide viewers. I loved how the chef’s relationship with nature and other people played in, while this didn’t do much for my editor.

To make the food work so well, food stylist Zoe Hegedus was brought in. Her previous credits include Midsommar and Poor Things. She specializes in creating food for movies as well as immersive eating experiences, and it worked for me!

This foodie genre movie had its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2024, and now a few weeks later, we can all watch it on Prime Video.

HOUSE OF SPOILS is out globally on Prime Video on October 3, 2024. 

Details

Writers / Directors: Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy
Cast: Ariana DeBose, Barbie Ferreira, Arian Moayed, Amara Karan, Mikkel Bratt Silset, Marton Csokas