The Deep House (2021) Movie Review - Enjoyable Haunted House Horror

Welcome to Knockout Horror. Today we are reviewing a haunted house horror movie with a difference – The Deep House. Following the story of a pair of YouTubers heading to an underwater sanitarium to conduct a paranormal investigation. This is a movie that brings together the old and the new in a fairly interesting way. Let’s take a look.

Haunted House Horror With a Difference

At its core, The Deep House is a fairly traditional haunted house horror movie. The major difference, however, is that much of the action takes place underwater. A tantalising prospect, perhaps? The idea of taking an old fashioned tale of ghosts and the paranormal and setting it deep underwater. Complete with all the usual risks that come along with diving. Seems like a good one. The question is, how does it hold up? Well, the results are a little mixed.

Social media is a pretty popular theme in horror lately. Influencers make for easy horror protagonists and the lengths that said influencers will go to for views and likes helps to create believable horror scenarios. That’s the case with The Deep House as our influencer pair are desperate for more attention, hence their trip into a dark and murky lake. Said lake and said underwater sanitarium are the highlights of this movie. The logistics of filming underwater means that this is a lesser used location. It works pretty well, here, and makes for some very unique thrills.

The underwater location looks fantastic. The logistics of diving do add to the tension, as well, making for a whole new gaggle of reasons that our protagonists can’t just get out of their predicament. The Deep House really doesn’t do anything new, though. There isn’t anything here that you wouldn’t see in any other haunted house themed movie. It just so happens that everything moves a little slower, everything is a little more buoyant and it’s all a bit more damp and hazy.

Fairly Effective Horror

Despite the actual underwater setting of The Deep House not adding a great deal to the scares. It is still a fairly effective haunted house horror movie. As mentioned above, this is a rather unique looking movie. It deserves praise simply for the technical aspects of the movie. You aren’t going to see too many films that look like this. There are some clever uses of diving tools to create tension and the ever present threat of running out of air is fairly unsettling, as well.

The Deep House shines most, however, when it is simply playing out like a fair ground ghost train ride and delivering one jump scare sequence after another. Characters slowly make their way through the dark and creepy looking house. They find horrifying things that hint at the location’s sordid past. They see things in the corner of their eyes and are spooked by shadows before things escalate in a major way. It’s pretty effective stuff and very much what you would expect from this type of movie.

There isn’t a tremendous amount of build up before the horror start as the story is very loosely developed. There’s really only enough bite to give the characters a reason to explore the house. There is no sense of character development and little gravity to what is happening. It’s just enough to get us to where we need to be. Stuck in a haunted house, 30 metres under the water.

Sleepover Horror

There is almost a sleepover horror quality to The Deep House. The jump scares are very reminiscent of movies like Annabelle and the like. It’s easy to watch and doesn’t demand too much of the viewer. The pacing is fine and the movie manages to keep the horror going fairly consistently. I could see a group of teens really enjoying this; laughing at each other as they jump out of their skins at some of the scares. Debating what is going on in the house, laughing at how dumb the characters are etc. It’s just easy viewing, popcorn horror.

There is a place for this type of movie in the genre, especially when it is included in your Netflix subscription. Some people have little interest in getting into some deep psychological horror. They just want something quick and easy to throw on and enjoy. The Deep House is perfectly fitting for this type of horror experience. Sure, it is completely predictable and you will see everything coming but it is still a fair amount of fun.

Poor Writing and Character Development

The Deep House suffers from a few major issues. For one, its characters are fairly unlikable and difficult to care about. There is so little character development here, Tina and Ben just come across as being a bit annoying. The dialogue is a massive problem, as well. Written by Alexandre Bustillo of the fantastic French New Wave horror movie Inside, with assistance from Rachel Parker and fellow director Julien Maury. This is a movie produced in English by writers from France; the result is dialogue that can feel very unnatural.

Tina’s tendency to use Frenglish can be rather annoying and it never feels anything other than forced. Ben talks like he may have lacked oxygen at birth, speaking in a slow manner with basic, simple, sentences. It’s all a bit awkward and doesn’t flow very well. Not that this is a problem or a criticism but Ben sounds a little like Apple from the kid’s show Apple and Onion. I couldn’t shake this thought for the entire movie and it kept making me chuckle.

The stilted and unnatural dialogue between the two characters becomes an especially noticeable issue later in the film. As soon as the pair are underwater, things get a lot worse. Their interactions feel even more prosthetic and the writing feels even more ridiculous. Tina has a tendency to yell repeatedly while Ben becomes even more annoying. Your best bet here is to block the characters out completely.

Should You Watch The Deep House?

If you are looking for some old fashioned popcorn horror fun you should probably watch The Deep House. At its heart, it is an old fashioned haunted house horror. Tacked on themes of social media as well as the random found footage presentation add little but the scenes featuring characters creeping around a scary house work well. Acting is a bit average and the dialogue can be awkward but If you are looking for an old fashioned horror. Easy to watch and not demanding too much of the viewer. You may find plenty to like with The Deep House.

Our Scoring Philosophy: A Fair Fight

Horror is a genre that thrives thanks to indie film makers and low budget creators. At Knockout Horror, we firmly believe that every movie that we review deserves a fair fight. That's why we grade on a curve. Our star ratings are all about context, judging a film on what it achieves with the resources it has.

A 4-star rating for a scrappy indie horror made for $10,000 is a testament to its ingenuity and raw power. A 4-star rating for a $100 million blockbuster means it delivered on its epic promises. We don't compare them side-by-side; we celebrate success in every weight class, from the back-alley brawler to the heavyweight champion. Please keep this in mind when considering star ratings.

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