My House

A Dad with secrets. A daughter determined to discover the truth! Intrigue awaits!….

Fresh from the memory of playing the evil Bren in the Irish masterpiece KIN, Francis Magee turns to portraying a Dad who at times can just be as loathsome in this thriller that may lack any memorable set-pieces and even blood, but offers a storyline that will at least keep you intrigued throughout its short running time.

Magee plays Don who on the surface looks like a kind single father doing his best for his daughter Carla (Mirren Mack), but then you notice the bars on the window, the fact that Carla is imprisoned in her own home where a game of “how quick can you lock the front door!” and then “run to the bedroom!” seems like a daily occurrence. Her only friend being a pet Hamster that is allowed out of its cage when she is good and as long as she doesn’t ask any questions, make sure food is on the table and the house is cleaned, then life will be pretty OK, her own strange existence, oblivious to even herself.

That is until there is a knock on the door, an apparent salesman (Aki Omoshaybi) who clearly knows more about Carla then he lets on, starts to raise suspicions about her life, who actually is she? and most importantly, is the man she calls “Dad” actually that? Of course as questions are asked, fists starts to be raised and…..well that’s about it!

The strongest aspect about MY HOUSE is the fact that you will be intrigued by the storyline and where its heading, even though the eventual outcome doesn’t really warrant the journey. Even though the acting is impeccable from both Magee and Mack who thanks to them alone, threatens to impose some sort of tension, it never reaches the fever pitch that it so desperately needs, instead staying in a mode where it all feels too safe, stuck on low gear when it should be reaching full throttle.

A lack of any real twist to the proceedings hurts the watch even more as you are desperate for something to really happen and by the time Michelle Collins turns up, in an unexpected plot vice that offers really no explanation, the movie suddenly reaches its climax and as the final credits roll, you’ll be forgiven for thinking “Is that it?” as a film about a young girl trapped in her own house by her Dad, should at least have one thing memorable to it….some horror, some tension soaked set-pieces….instead, perhaps the biggest set-piece we had was a game of chess, which really sums up an entire film that originally promised so much.

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