House (1986)

Ah, the dreaded horror comedy. Many have tried to make it work and quiet simply, many have failed. This 1986 flick from director Steve Miner however, actually succeeds with both scares and laughs. A horror author and former Vietnam vet moves into his deceased aunt's home (she recently hung herself), where he plans to write a biography of his time in the war. He is also currently going through a divorce, and the trauma of not knowing the whereabouts of his son, who disappeared some time ago in the vicinity of his aunt's home. The catch here is that the house is haunted, and our author is sure that his son is trapped within somewhere by the ghostly inhabitants. Pretty soon he is at war with the house (aided by a less than helpful George Wendt) in order to get his son back. Lots of cool creature f/x, from slimy tetacled things popping out of the closet to a big bloated female creature and back again were the highlight for me. The viewer is never really sure what is going to pop out at them next, and the filmmakers do a good job of keeping the tension up. The humor is ok, not to crude and not to cute. As for the scares, sure they are not to intense, more of the "Amazing Stories" variety, but they come off pretty well. Even I get sick of the old ultraviolence once in a while! House is a great flick to watch with maybe a younger monster fan and a good tweener between the kiddie stuff and the serious scares. Definetly worth a rental.