"House of Spoils" conjures up a creepy menu

October 3, 2024

Courtesy: Prime Video

"House of Spoils," Prime Video's latest original horror film, is a blend of culinary drama and supernatural horror. Starring Oscar winner Ariana DeBose (West Side Story) as Chef, the film follows an ambitious chef as she opens a restaurant on a remote estate where she battles kitchen chaos, crushing self doubts… and a haunting presence who threatens to sabotage her at every turn. The film premieres today on Prime Video.

Written and directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy, the film is produced by Jason Blum, Adam Hendricks, Greg Gilreath, Drew Houpt, Lucas Joaquin, and Alex Scharfman. Blumhouse Television, Divide/Conquer, and Secret Engine are the production companies. Amazon MGM Studios distributes.

The ensemble cast includes:

• Barbie Ferreira as Lucia

• Arian Moayed as Andres

• Marton Csokas as Marcello

• Mikkel Bratt Silset as Erik Haas

• Amara Karan as Hiral Sen

• Gabriel Drake as Alvin

• Imola Gáspár as Witch

• Soroosh Lavasani as Feder

• Shiraz Khan as Manny

The film starts with a creepy ritual sacrifice with lots of blood from a witch and her coven which later ties into the film's plot. Chef effortlessly weaves through the demands of the restaurant's kitchen, where she has skillfully worked for years. The demands of the kitchen almost feel like FX's The Bear, but not quite. She's so talented that lead chef Marcello wants to double her salary, knowing her true potential, but Chef has better and more ambitious ideas. She wants to branch off on her own and tells Marcello she's quitting to open her own restaurant. With the help of her investor Arian, Chef decides to open their restaurant on an isolated, dilapidated estate with the intent of rebranding it as a destination restaurant where customers would drive hours to experience the prestige of eating there. They definitely see this vision. The only problem is that the house is a house of horrors, and the previous owner's spirit, known as the witch, is restless and tormented.

Courtesy: Prime Video

Immediately, creepy things starts happening to Chef and she starts seeing dead bugs crawling from literally everywhere and moldy, decaying food even when it's perfectly fine. Chef has something to prove to Marcello and herself, so she laboriously toils to get the haunted house up to sanitary standards with the help of Alvin. When she has her first official menu critique by investors, it's an epic fail and Arian axes her. Desperate, she begs Arian to give her two weeks and she will literally conjure up menus that will knock his socks off. While Chef makes this promise, the creepy factor rises several notches, and she starts having horrible nightmares. It only gets worse as she starts having visions of the witch. With instructions to "feed the soil," which leads to a hidden garden on the estate, the creepy factor elevates from there.

"The House of Spoils" is a fantastic horror movie that premieres in October at just the right time for the Halloween season. As Chef's grip on reality teeters, so does her personality as she lashes out and the tension builds. Chef suddenly has a burst of inspiration, but then we quickly discover the source of her inspiration that is both frightening and chilling as the musical score and direction set the tone throughout the movie. DeBose's commanding presence emotionally resonates throughout the film as we see her strive to manifest Chef's dreams, as it slowly erodes with every creepy sound that manifests through the walls at night and threatens the fabric of her soul. We're rooting for Chef to uncover the mysteries of the haunted house and reclaim her dreams for the future.

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House of Spoils is currently streaming on Prime Video.

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