History WesternAnimation / TheHouse2022

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* AwesomeAnimation: the stop motion animation of the film is a standout with incredible detail paid not only to set design but also to things like breathing and subtle eye movements.

* CharacterDevelopment: The main hook, in an uncommon negative take on the trope, due to being a horror. For the whole of the film however, theres a subtle implication of [[spoiler: ''The House'' itself goes through it, being a GeniusLoci. In the first story, its freshly built by a wealthy cruel asshole to torture and break a poor family, and it does so, but witnesses the sacrifice the parents make to save their children, which is not guaranteed, given the harsh weather theyre driven into. In the second story, its a fixer upper, whose purpose is done, and hasn't been taken care of for a ''long'' time in current day, and for the first part of it nothing concerning begins to happen until it becomes evident the Contractor is cutting corners and fixing things on a surface level, after which, after its obvious no one will stay, it makes its own occupants out of insects, who destroy what The Contractor did fix. Lastly in the third story, the focus shifts more on Rose, who wants to actually fix the house and see its potential as a happier home for not only the tenants, but eventually her to have happy memories. It witnesses her planning the repairs, wanting rent to make geniune fixes, her honest conversations, and her fear of moving forward pushing the closest people in her life away - to the point of allowing a stranger to make huge changes to its structure and use its material to save the tenants. It eventually gives her visions after she accidentally falls into the flooded basement to show her what she and it will actually stand to lose, transporting her to the tent to make sure she sees Jen leaving and understand. She does, and by trusting the changes made to the house, dislodges it and saves both of them from losing everything to the floodwaters.]]

*** Elias: variant of Elijah, who biblically led the Isralites to God. It's revealed that [[spoiler: he was planning on leaving the House's island, and leads the others, including Rosa, to eventually follow suit to freedom.]]

**

* UncannyValley:

** In chapter 2, there's a recession on, the supermarket can't get anything right, and the only way to sell a house is to cut corners wherever possible. Here, the House is a bug-infested nightmare where nothing works and the developers efforts to improve it all come to nothing.

* EldritchLocation: There's something ''very'' strange about the House, especially in chapter 1: it can be rebuilt without anyone hearing the noise, food appears on the dinner table without any sign of servants or catering staff, the upper-story corridors turn into an impassable labyrinth, Mabel and Isobel fall asleep in the attic and wake up to find themselves outside the drawing room, and [[spoiler: the House somehow manages to survive the drawing room fire]]. In chapter 2, the developer seems cursed with bad luck simply by staying here, as things keep breaking and insects keep returning to the building no matter how many times the developer exterminates them, even [[spoiler: mutating them into beings capable of impersonating potential buyers - assuming they weren't like that before]]. In Chapter 3, AlienGeometries return with a vengeance when Rosa falls into the basement, only to wind up in Cosmos' tent... and in the ending, [[spoiler: the house is so weird that Cosmos is somehow able to modify it into a sailing ship with the contents of a standard toolkit.]]
* GeniusLoci: The Mansion, though it itself makes no actions, seems to cause horrible things to happen to everyone who owns it. To the point that it can [[spoiler: turn people into decorations, vermin into speaking individuals, and make people seemingly obsessed with its upkeep.]] It's even spoken to directly at least once, and its implied that its location and the influence of Schoonbeek is the initial cause.
** NothingIsScarier: While there is a theme to why the house causes things to happen (Greed and Status), the distinct reasons why it does so are so unknowable that it's just a slow build of dread as the characters are driven to their fates.

* AbnormalLimbRotation: As Raymond stares at the unlit fireplace on all fours, Thomas comes in with his chair to burn. His head unnaturally swivels 180 degrees to look at Thomas and visibly creaks into place, the same holding true for when he turns his head back to look at the fireplace. [[spoiler: This is an early sign that he's being transformed into a piece of furniture.]]

* ImprobableInfantSurvival: The infant Isobel is able to survive through things that most babies wouldn't. Such as tumbling down a ''stone'' stairway without so much as a wail. And falling several feet into [[spoiler:snow without issue]].

* ParentalNeglect: Entranced by the luxury of the House, Raymond and Penny gradually lose interest in their children in favor of their petty obsessions, to the point that Mabel has to look after Isobel herself. By the ending, Raymond can't even bring himself to pay attention to Mabel's desperate pleas for help.
* PyroManiac: Raymond grows increasingly obsessed with starting a fire in the withdrawing room's heart, especially once it becomes clear that nothing will burn... except for possessions of sentimental value.
* TookALevelInJerkass: As Van Schoonbeek and the House corrupts them, Raymond and Penny grow progressively more neglectful of their children, even snapping angrily at Mabel when she calls their bizarre-looking new clothes "strange." This comes to a head when Raymond callously destroys Mabel's dollhouse simply because he wants something to burn in the firehouse.

* BigCreepyCrawlies: [[spoiler: As it turns out, the Odd Couple staying in the house are actually human-sized bugs, as is discovered when their extended family welcome the Developer home: on top of sporting additional arms, they proceed to devour the house alive while crawling all over it like cockroaches.]]

* DisneyAcidSequence: At one point, the Developer trips over his printer and experiences a bizarre and possibly hallucinogenic sequence in which all the bugs in the house appear and perform a BusbyBerkeleyNumber.

* RedRightHand: The Odd Couple; ostensibly, they're anthropomorphic rats like the other characters in the story, but their body shape is quite dissimilar: the male has a squat, wide body, while the female has a long, slender frame with an oddly-segmented bone structure. [[spoiler: It turns out that they're giant versions of the insects infesting the house.]]

* SceneryBasedSocietalBarometer: The fish tank is an easy shorthand for the state of the house and by extension, the Developer's sanity. At the beginning, the one fish appears in good health, but the tank is otherwise empty; as the Developer's renovations grow more desperate, it can be seen gaping at the surface of the water as if hungry; in the viewing, the tank has been equipped with a lush coral display to reflect the latest measures to impress potential buyers - only for a child to immediately begin writing with an ice-cream cone on the side of the tank; in the disastrous aftermath of the viewing, the fish can be seen eating the cone. In the finale, [[spoiler: with the Developer completely insane and the house in ruins]], the fish is dead and floating belly-up in the tank.

* WealthyYachtOwner: The Developer fantasizes about retiring to a yacht after successfully selling the house. This plan doesn't pan out, of course.

* ImpliedLoveInterest: It's never outright said, but Elias is implied to have a crush on Rosa (signified by longing stares, making her the focus for a lot of his art [[spoiler:and staying around long enough to join Rosa along with the others when she comes out to sea]]), and she is just not acknowledging it because she is fixated on fixing the house. On some level it's also implied Rosa reciprocates, as she seems particularly hurt to learn he wants to leave, sad when he does without saying goodbye - but leaves art for her, and [[spoiler: has a vision that emphasizes him being gone.]]

* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Cosmos. Jen knows he's coming ''without really having a way to communicate reliably,'' he seems to understand the vibes of the house, and has an umbrella becomes a tent implied to be fully furnished. But he never does anything fully unnatural, and we never see the inside of the tent either.

* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: [[spoiler: After the two previous {{Downer Ending}}s, this one ends on a happy note with Rosa setting off with the other tenants into the floodwaters, using the house as a makeshift boat.]]
* UngratefulBastard: what the tenants come across as at first, frustrating Rosa by making requests of her in addition to being focused on being practical and wanting to have the resources to fix the house up. However on an isolated island, what they have is actually invaluable to survive (Elias can fish, Jen keeps her emotionally stable and has a garden, and Cosmos is a handyman). It's implied on some level that part of the reason Rosa is high-strung and deluding herself is because she's upset that she doesn't have skills like the others do and views the house as all she is worth.

* AbnormalLimbRotation: As Raymond stares at the unlit fireplace on all fours, Thomas comes in with his chair to burn. His head unnaturally swivels 180 degrees to look at Thomas and visibly creaks into place, the same holding true for when he turns his head back to look at the fireplace.

* BurnBabyBurn: At the tail end of his corruption, Raymond burns all the family possessions in the withdrawing room fireplace, concluding with Mabel's dollhouse. [[spoiler: This last one ultimately results in a fire that results in the newly-transformed Raymond and Penny burning alive.]]

* DrowningMySorrows: Raymond's condescending mother claims that his father was a drunkard who spent his life doing just that. After the miserable visit, Raymond would go on to drink his pain away. And near the end, [[spoiler:Mr. Thomas is shown drinking after being driven mad by his employer's chaotic nature and how he doomed the family]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The new clothes that Van Schoonbeek designs for Raymond and Penny, which appear to be made from curtains and seat cushions. [[spoiler: In the ending, they are literally transformed into a chair and a set of drapes, respectively.]]

** Van Schoonbeek the architect and creator of the House. He ''appears'' generally human, but is somehow able to teleport himself and his sedan chair around without anyone noticing him, his creations feature AlienGeometries and other weird effects, and at one point, he even emerges from the shadows behind Mr Thomas as a ''giant.'' It's not certain if he's an EvilSorcerer, {{Satan}}, or some other eldritch being.

* ItsAllJunk: In the ending, Raymond is so desperate for something to burn in the fireplace that, when prompted by Mr Thomas, he eagerly disposes of the family's old possession, reasoning that it really is all junk now that they have so much better things in the House. It's ultimately a sign that Van Schoonbeek has well and truly corrupted him into abandoning everything he'd genuinely cared about in favor of mindless materialism - especially when he destroys Mabel's dollhouse.

* DistractedByTheSexy: Subverted, The Developer yells at the couple using the bathroom, and stops mid sentence to stare at the naked female member of the two. Later its revealed that he [[spoiler: is gay, if he isn't just deluding himself into thinking his dentist is his wife, or girlfriend.]] This, coupled with the fact that he's middle aged and is staring someone described as ''elderly,'' seems to point to him being more shocked than anything.

* PoliceAreUseless:[[spoiler: The Developer calls the police to get the Old Couple out of his house, he does rightfully own it and they have essentially squatted and taken advantage of him. The two officers who come to the door are only there to issue a warning, but they leave in a huff without hearing what he was calling about and there is no follow up that the audience sees, to the point that no one notices how he soon degrades or that the horde of people who came in never left and are crawling up walls.]]

* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: Throughout the story, the Developer is on the phone with an apparent lover, often begging for affection from them despite their low opinion of him. [[spoiler: In the climax, it turns out that he's been talking to his ''dentist,'' who is not happy at being constantly harassed by an overfamiliar patient and sends the police to warn him off. For his part, the Developer doesn't even seem to understand why this is a problem. Even before this, when he slips and falls in the basement, seeing a [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment choreographed dance and song of beetles and silverfish on the ceiling]]. ]]

* GeniusLoci: The Mansion, though it itself makes no actions, seems to cause horrible things to happen to everyone who owns it. To the point that it can [[spoiler: turn people into decorations, vermin into speaking individuals, and make people seemingly obsessed with its upkeep.]] It's implied that its location and the influence of Schoonbeek is the initial cause.

* DrowningMySorrows: Raymond's condescending mother claims that his father was a drunkard who spent his life doing that. After the miserable visit, Raymond would go on to drink his pain away. And near the end, [[spoiler:Mr. Thomas is shown drinking after being driven mad by his employer's chaotic nature and how he doomed the family]].

* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: Throughout the story, the Developer is on the phone with an apparent lover, often begging for affection from them despite their low opinion of him. [[spoiler: In the climax, it turns out that he's been talking to his ''dentist,'' who is not happy at being constantly harassed by an overfamiliar patient and sends the police to warn him off. For his part, the Developer doesn't even seem to understand why this is a problem.]]

* LighterAndSofter: Despite the apocalyptic setting, this final story is nowhere near as dark or unsettling as the previous chapters.

* AmbiguouslyGay: It is revealed that the supposed lover the Developer has been talking to throughout the story is in fact [[spoiler: his male dentist. However, it's not made clear if he actually is gay or if living in the house has made him delusional, although he doesn't seem to particularly be upset when he finds out.]]

* BrattyHalfPint: One of the potential house-buyers brings their daughter who runs around tracking mud on the white carpet. She would also use her ice cream to draw on the fish tank and later drops the dessert into the water without any repremanding.

* ButNowIMustGo: Elias ultimately decides to leave the House and the hippie couple follows suit.

* HiddenDepths: Elias is revealed to be a talented artist and leaves some of his work to [[spoiler:Rosa before departing]].
* LighterAndSofter: This story isn't as dark or unsettling like the previous ones.
* NewAgeRetroHippie: Jen's archetype. She loves meditating, dancing to new age music, has a mellow personality and pays in healing rocks. Her partner Cosmos also fits the bill.
* SkewedPriorities: Even with the world in ruins and the House in danger of being consumed by the floodwaters, Rosa is still carrying on with her plans of renovating the House, acting as if the building will one day see paying tenants.
* SurprisinglyHappyEnding: [[spoiler: After the two previous [[DownerEnding Downer Endings]], this one ends on a happy note with Rosa setting off with the other tenants into the floodwaters, using the house as a makeshift boat.]]
* YankTheDogsChain: Rosa thinks she found hope when Cosmos reveals that he's a handyman and is willing to follow through with her renovations project. [[spoiler:She instantly regrets it when she discovers that not only did Cosmos not follow up with her plans but also took out several floorboards to make Elias a boat]].

* ButNowIMustGo: Elias ultimately decides to leave the House.

* NewAgeRetroHippie: Jen's archetpye. She loves meditating, dancing to new age music, has a mellow personality and pays in healing rocks. Her partner Cosmos also fits the bill.

[[folder: Chapter One]]

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: The awful fate of Raymond and Penny, transformed into furniture and left almost completely paralyzed but still conscious enough to be aware of their plight. In the end, they can't escape the fire that Raymond has accidentally set... though given their misery, it's doubtful that they'd ever ''want'' to.]]

[[folder: Chapter Two]]

[[folder: Chapter 3]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/large_the_house_poster.jpeg]]

[[AC: As a whole]]

[[AC: Chapter One]]

[[AC: Chapter Two]]

* CreepyCockroaches: The bugs are described as "fur beetles," but are clearly modelled on cockroaches (giant larvae aside), and are played for revulsion and horror throughout the chapter. [[spoiler: Especially when a giant family of them lay waste to the House's interior.]]

[[AC: Chapter 3]]
* SkewedPriorities: Even with the world in ruins and the House in danger of being consumed by the floodwaters, Rosa is still carrying on with her plans of renovating the House, acting as if the building will one day see paying tenants.

* WealthyYachtOwner: The Developer fantasizes about retiring to a yacht after successfully selling the house. This plan doesn't pan out, of course.

* CuttingCorners: The Developer dismisses his entire construction crew in favor of carrying out the renovations himself and opts to carry out DIY pest extermination instead of calling in professionals. This turns out to be a disastrous strategy: his renovations are based on style over substance, with him trying to impress potential buyers with expensive fittings and appliances while necessities like taps barely work. Meanwhile, his attempts to kill the bugs are all surface and don't confront the ''thousands'' of bugs lurking under the floorboards.
* HorribleHousing: The Developer lives in the cellar of the House while renovating it, and the barren surroundings and lone camping bed are sharply contrasted by the sumptuous-looking rooms upstairs.

* UnanthropomorphicTransformation: [[spoiler: After being driven mad by the events of the episode, the Developer begins crawling around on all fours, eating garbage, and chittering like a real rat, ending the episode by crawling into a burrow dug behind the oven.]]

* TheVoiceless: Van Schoonbeek is ''seen'' talking to Raymond at a distance, but never says a word onscreen, instead only laughing at the family's suffering.

* MadArtist: Van Schoonbeek is referred to as an artist as well as an architect, creating weird and eldritch houses seemingly for the love of it... and takes great delight in watching Raymond and Penny degenerate over the course of the story.

* TheConstant: The House, of course, remains present throughout all three segments - in the 19th century, in the 21 century, and in the post-apocalyptic future. It starts out as a lone mansion on a forested hillside, becomes a townhouse in the middle of a city, before finally becoming the only building still above the waterline.

** Van Schoonbeek the architect and creator of the House. He ''appears'' human, but is somehow able to teleport himself and his sedan chair around without anyone noticing him, his creations feature AlienGeometries and other weird effects, and at one point, he even emerges from the shadows behind Mr Thomas as a ''giant.''

* AnAesop: The anthology has a lot to say about how wealth and materialism aren't going to make you happy: it's part of Van Schoonbeek's plan to lure in Raymond's family, it's what undermines the developer from beginning to end, and Rosa remains miserable until she can finally give up on her dream of being a successful landlady.
* EldritchLocation: There's something ''very'' strange about the House, especially in chapter 1: it can be rebuilt without anyone hearing the noise, the upper-story corridors turn into an impassable labyrinth, Mabel and Isobel fall asleep in the attic and wake up to find themselves outside the drawing room, and [[spoiler: the House somehow manages to survive the drawing room fire]]. In chapter 2, bugs keep returning to the building no matter how many times the developer exterminates them, even [[spoiler: mutating them into beings capable of impersonating potential buyers - assuming they weren't like that before]]. In Chapter 3, AlienGeometries return with a vengeance when Rosa falls into the basement, only to wind up in Cosmos' tent... and in the ending, [[spoiler: the house is so weird that Cosmos is somehow able to modify it into a sailing ship with the contents of a standard toolkit.]]

!!This movie provides examples of the following tropes:

''The House'' is a 2022 stop-motion AnthologyFilm divided into three chapters, each one with its own director/s: Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels, Niki Lindroth von Bahr, and Paloma Baeza. It starred Creator/MatthewGoode, Claudie Blakley, Mia Goth, Music/JarvisCocker, Susie Wokoma, Creator/HelenaBonhamCarter, Paul Kaye, and Creator/WillSharpe. It premiered on Creator/Netflix on January 14, 2022.