Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘The Happy House’

Written by Scott Edwards

No matter who you are, you always need to escape life for a day, a week, a month or even a year. But one shouldn't just take a vacation from work, you should take a vacation from it all, and with so much technology at our fingertips, sometimes you just need to let it all go. You may find that you like the escape so much that you might never want to come back from it, but alas, we all have bills to pay, so it may not be long enough, but some time away is better than none. It is easy to find the perfect place to go visit while taking your break, but as The Happy House shows you, no place is ever perfect.

Joe and Wendy are at their breaking point and need to get away from the city for a vacation. While Joe is able to find an adorable Bed and Breakfast, Wendy is not too happy about the idea, she would rather just stay in a hotel for a couple of nights. Trying to convince his wife that it will be a blast, Joe gets lost on the way to the B&B, but there is only one road, so the couple will be sure to find it. Pulling up to The Happy House and seeing how secluded it is from the world, Joe is glad he made the decision, but Wendy is still having a hard time dealing with it.

Being greeted by Hildie, Joe and Wendy are made to feel at home, but this home has a page full of rules that need to be followed or else a strike is handed out to them.  Meeting a fellow guest Mr. Hverven, he warns the couple that the rules must be followed at all time and Hildie’s son Skip is always on the lookout to report violators to her. As Hveren has received his third strike, Wendy is worried about what will happen to him. Seeing Skip following the butterfly hunter with an axe, she fears that Hildie and her family is a going to kill anyone that does not follow the rules. Keeping tabs on the missing Hverven, Wendy is ready to call it a trip and leave the B&B as soon as possible. But when Hverven returns unharmed, Joe and Wendy find out what getting your third strike really means. 

Not being able to eat Hildie’s blueberry muffins for a full day is the punishment, and while Wendy is relieved that her hosts are not crazy killers, she cannot take the rules of the house any longer and tries to drive into town. After the car breaks down, Wendy is forced to come back to The Happy House and apologize for being overly aggressive. While everyone in the house is starting to get along, a knock on the door from the local sheriff delivers upsetting news. A mental patient has escaped from the facility a couple counties away and is now on the loose. As the house mates decides what to do next, another knock from an unknown person comes and seeing that Desmond the Decapitator is at their door, the group must come up with a plan to survive while he seems to have the upper hand.

Going into this movie, I expected crazy blood and guts being thrown all over the place from those who did not play by the rules, not a ban on muffins. It kind of caught me off guard, but that is not a bad thing. While the scares that I am used to are not highlighted in this movie, you still get to be tormented by a serial killer which was nice, but it is the earlier scares from the unknown that leave you jumping. Seeing it from Wendy’s perspective, Hildie and her son Skip were killers and something awful happened to Hverven. When that was not the case, Wendy seemed to lose her mind a bit, but was able to make it back when she was needed most. It’s a fun movie, just not one that played out differently then I was expecting after reading the description, and surely after the rules have been laid out. Stay Scared.

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