House of 9

Nine Little Indians — er, I mean House of 9, pits a group of strangers against each other in an isolated house. It’s reminiscent of Agatha Christie’s 10 Little Indians, the Cube series, and Saw II, but then again what new movies don’t remind you of something else that’s gone before? There are plenty of brutal, bloody killings, plus you get to see Dennis Hopper as a grave Irish priest with a Lucky Charms accent — that’s worth the price of a rental right there.

In sort of a twisted Big Brother contest, nine strangers are collected at random and thrown into a huge mansion that’s barred from exit and stuffed to the gills with hidden cameras. We’ve got all our archetypes here: Spoiled Rich Girl, Angry Black Man, Controlling Cop, Bickering Couple, Shaky Drug Addict, and so on. They find a note telling them that they are participants in a game: the one who emerges victorious will be given scads of cash. At first, the group decides not to play their sick captor’s game, but inevitably they’re put into situations that leave them no choice.

House of 9 has a lot of problems. The screenplay uses a stock plot, stock characters and goes to the stock twist ending. The direction is languid, and the cinematography is awfully green. Somehow, these problems often work in the film’s favor: the story goes where you want and expect it to; the direction gives you time to get to know the people you’re about to watch die; and the spare photography fits the desperation theme. Everything else is pretty standard, but the soundtrack is quite impressive: going from aggro hip-hop to pretty piano sonatas, it stands out.

It’s not a great film by any stretch, but if you choose to buy into House of 9’s vibe and check your brain at the door, you just might enjoy it.

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Reviewed by Staci Layne Wilson