House of Darkness

Mina and Hap met by chance in a bar. Now they are sitting together in front of a large fireplace in a sprawling, almost castle-like mansion owned by Mina’s family. Hap, played by Justin Long, can hardly believe his luck yet is already indulging in erotic fantasies, which Mina (Kate Bosworth) stokes further. In a sultry, whispered tone, she declares that he could do anything he wanted to her. Yet there is an undercurrent to her words; it is almost as if she were daring him to try. In this moment, which could simply be a flirtation, there lies — as is often the case in Neil LaBute’s films — a sense of ambiguity, something dark lurking beneath the surface. Like few other writers and filmmakers, he knows how to use subtle hints in his dialogue to open up sinister realms in which one becomes increasingly lost. This is certainly true of this deeply personal take on vampire mythology, a film he ironically links to Bram Stoker’s »Dracula« through the names of two of his own female characters. »House of Darkness« effectively turns horror genre conventions on their head, using them to subvert male fantasies of omnipotence.