House of Spoils Film Review: Half-baked Horror

House of Spoils presents an interesting setup, but the horror is half-baked, and before long, the story ventures into predictable territory.

Among the cooks is Ariana DeBose’s character, who is known only as Chef. She is clearly one of the best employees at the establishment, so it comes as quite a surprise to owner Marcello (Marton Csokas, of Cuckoo) when, later that evening, Chef announces that she’s leaving to start her own restaurant in upstate New York in a remote location. Her soon-to-be former boss proclaims that she’s not equipped to manage a kitchen, and leaving one of the best restaurants in the city to work elsewhere is a huge mistake. Regardless of Marcello’s belittling comments, our protagonist Chef is determined to take the reins, become independent, and take on a managerial role. Even when Marcello offers to double her salary, she fiercely declines.

Though House of Spoils has a promising opening and an inviting kitchen sequence, once Chef moves to her new restaurant, the story falls flat. DeBose does all she can with the material, but the issue is the film’s dull script, reflecting a drab narrative early on.

Blumhouse (who produces the film with Amazon MGM Studios) has made some outstanding horror films to date, but as of late, I have had somewhat of a love-hate relationship with them. In the last couple of years, many of their fright flicks contain predictive stories jam packed with horror tropes and ineffective, pointless jump scares.

Unfortunately, House of Spoils is another feature that suffers the same fate and follows this pattern. The movie feels more like a PG-13 gateway horror flick that’s about as tame as an Are You Afraid of the Dark? episode. That’s not to say that all horror movies must be R-rated and super violent to be effective. However, if you’re walking into House of Spoils expecting a genuinely scary, gripping, nail-biting experience, that’s not what you’ll be getting here.

The film is at its best and most interesting when focusing on Chef’s decision to pivot to a managerial role and assume all kitchen duty responsibility. As a character, her dedication to her craft is inspiring. She is a strong woman holding her own, and as a viewer, you want nothing more than for her to prove to her snarky ex-boss who doubted her abilities that she is more than capable and can be successful.

It’s also no surprise that food stylist Zoe Hegedus had some involvement in the film, given just how stunning the table set pieces and food dishes look. House of Spoils excels during its cooking sequences, with excellently presented cuisine items that make you feel as though you’re watching real-life chefs prepare delightful and delish meals.

But just as you’re settling into the film’s intriguing drama components, it’s as if House of Spoils suddenly remembers it’s meant to be a chilling flick, and the underwhelming Lifetime-esque horror narrative creeps back in. You’re then reminded once again of the film’s lackluster script that’s incapable of balancing its horror and drama elements adequately. House of Spoils is meant to be a frightening film, but the scares feel half-baked, and the horror takes a backseat to the much more pivotal exploration of a resilient woman taking a huge leap of faith in her career. Yet, the spooky elements also somehow overshadow this more interesting subplot at the worst possible time.

Though I was looking forward to House of Spoils and Ariana DeBose’s performance, Blumhouse and Amazon MGM Studios’ latest endeavor falls short due to its unremarkable script. The result is a film that fails to deliver a satisfying narrative, lacking the substance needed to fully embrace its horror while also allowing the intriguing dramatic themes to fully shine. All in all, I’m sad to say that House of Spoils is a rather bland entrée with very little flavor.

House of Spoils is now available to watch on Prime Video.