House of 9 (2005, R)

 

Netflix sent me House of 9 today, and the description on the DVD envelope says this thriller borrows from Agatha Christie and Saw II, so there's that.  I actually enjoyed it a little bit more I was expecting to, mainly because it spends more time on the psychological stuff than the old ultraviolence.  Still, it’s not exactly my type of movie.

 

In this film, nine strangers are abducted and wake to find themselves trapped in a large, sleekly modern-looking house.  There's a disembodied voice on a loudspeaker, as there usually seems to be in these kinds of movies, telling them what's up: the last one standing will walk out with a duffel bag full of cash.  The voice behind the curtain sends no threats after them.  He only manipulates the environment – limiting their food, messing with the temperature, leaving one of the characters with a gun – and waits for them to turn on each other.

 

All the characters chosen for this little “game” come from different backgrounds, selected for maximum in-fighting:  haves and have-nots, white and black, law-abiding and criminal.  As such, they're written more as types than characters.  PC plays Max Roy, a wealthy clothing designer.

 

Among the nine, Max falls on the less sympathetic side of the scale.  He's more than a little classist, quick to judge others, and when thrust into a horrific situation, his first priority is his own survival.  Not a bad guy specifically, just more of a run-of-the-mill snob who looks out for number one when his back is to the wall.  Acted well enough – I could buy Max as a person rather than a sketch.

 

The film also features Morven Christie, who was on Who in “Tooth and Claw,” and that disembodied voice on the loudspeaker?  Downton Abbey's Carson – yeah.

 

Accent Watch

 

Sounds like London.  The Scottish OO's creep through a little bit in the more emotionally-charged scenes.

 

Recommend?

 

In General – Meh.  I don't watch a lot of films in this genre, but I'd say it's probably a middling psychological thriller.  I'm sure there are plenty of others more worth watching.

 

PC-wise – Not necessarily.  If you're a big fan, you'll like his performance here, but don't put it on the top of your must-watch list.

 

Warnings

 

A fair amount of language, dark themes, and a little sexual content.  Violence, of course – not super-gory or twistedly inventive.  More like what a bunch of regular people could realistically do when pushed to their limits.