Chicken House (Movie Review)

As a girl born and raised in Texas who never wanted to live in a “big city”, moving to Los Angeles after I graduated college was quite the change of scenery. The city is filled with a cast of characters trying to make it big, all while working other jobs to pay the monthly rent. This, however, was not why I was in L.A. I just needed a change of pace and moved in with my older brother and found myself surrounded by people who were not like me. I didn’t want to be famous. I couldn’t sing or act, all I wanted to do was get a job with my marketing degree. When I saw the synopsis of Chicken House, there was something about it that I felt I could relate to.

Chicken House features three young women who all moved to L.A. in pursuit of their acting careers, who take in a mysterious new roommate. Before we meet this peculiar new roommate, we are introduced to Charlie (Ashley Mandanas), kind albeit a little awkward who explores her sexual identity; April (Kassie Gann) who has a boyfriend and records voiceovers in a literal closet; and Beth (Jessi Kyle); a devoted lover of Jesus who feels it’s her mission to be just where she is. We spend time with this trio navigating the world of early 20s cohabitation. The roommate meetings in the film were just as cringey as the flashbacks I began having.

Before I talk about Cat, played by the director of the film Cate Jones, I want to make note of the interesting formatting of this film. We are told the story of what happened in the apartment through black and white flashbacks interspersed with current-day interviews with a few of the women. This style of storytelling ultimately drew me in, as it alludes to an event happening that we have yet to be shown. Chaos begins to unfold at the arrival of Cat, the new roommate, who tells the others of the evil she sensed in their home. Unfortunately, this is a thread of the film I wanted more exploration into. The evil presence seems to be forgotten about for a good portion of the film, ramping up to an exorcism-filled ending that I felt came out of nowhere. I needed more from the poltergeist presence who I felt did not cause enough disruption in the lives of these young women.

I connected with the women in this film in a way I didn’t want to, which ultimately is a compliment, I swear! Cate Jones wrote her characters in a way that I felt I knew them. I have met these women. I’ve lived with them, been friends with them, and fought with them. It’s a bit more comedy than horror, but the ending sent an unexpected chill up my spine. Or maybe that was just the horror reliving my early 20s in L.A. I probably could have benefited from an exorcism or two during those times.

Screened as part of the 2022 Chatanooga Film Festival