There are horror films, and there is writer/director Paul Catalanotto’s The Children Under the House, which sits in a category all of its own. Some might push to label it under the found-footage banner; others would see it immortalized among the creepypasta genre. One thing is clear: it is definitely unlike all the others out there—for better or worse. But definitely for the better.
The premise is simple. An unnamed protagonist purchases a repossessed storage locker, finding a variety of items in it: an old computer, a filing cabinet, and VHS tapes hidden in a false bottom of a desk. The files belonged to Dr. Julia Luu (Mary Catalanotto), a successful child therapist who passed away in 2015. The tapes are of her sessions with a young girl named Jess (Everly Catalanotto), who is convinced that her imaginary friends are real manifestations—her crayon drawings and writings testifying to that fact. Dr. Luu is skeptical, but her patient’s artworks keep getting more and more alarming.
Catalanotto really pushes audience expectation for his horror feature, where dialogue is limited to Dr. Luu and Jess’ brief interactions, along with the aforementioned drawings taking center stage. It’s a methodical and experimental storytelling style that won’t appeal to everyone, especially those more accustomed to the graphic and visceral thrills of modern horror. It most certainly demands your full attention with a lot of text and a 79-minute runtime. But for those willing to sit down and actually keep up with the film, it’s a totally unique audiovisual experience. Everything from the eerie soundtrack to the messy crayon lines is analogue horror in its most primal form; just like Jess’ vivid mind, Catalanotto leaves it up to his viewer’s imagination to fill in the blanks as the frame lingers on a sheet of used paper.
With a delightful story and deeply unsettling subject matter, The Children Under the House is a shoe-in for cult classic status amongst the underground horror scene.
