Movie director and producer Niyi Akinmolayan’s new movie ‘The House of Secrets” is now streaming on Amazon prime video, and Kemi Filani brings you a review of the psychological thriller.
The almost 2 hours long movie stars Najite Dede, Femi Jacobs, Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, Efe Irele, Shawn Faqua, Kate Henshaw, Anee Icha, Emeka Nwagbaraocha, Taye Arimoro, Gbugbemi Ejeye, Moyinoluwa Olutayo, Ekpenyong Bassey Inyang, Ebisan Arayi, Tobi Daniels, Matty Bayelsa and Fiyinfoluwa Asenuga.
The House of Secrets revolves around a sheltered woman whose past comes back to haunt her when she’s thrown in jail for being an accomplice to her spy lover. Twenty years later, a group rescues her from jail and sets up a semblance of her old house to make her remember a secret number her spy lover hid with her.
The House of Secrets is a psychological thriller intertwined with love and politics.
First of all, we say kudos to the makers of ‘The House of Secrets for raising the bar in cinematography and production design. Niyi Akinmolayan undoubtedly experimented successfully with monochrome cinematography and soundtrack.
We loved the art of flashbacks in dialogue and photography. The meticulously crafted set design and masterful use of music are particularly commendable, showcasing the film’s technical prowess.
The setting was great, we loved the flashbacks and how it was mixing with the present times in a breathtaking way like they happened side by side.
The characters in The House of Secrets
We also loved how attention was paid to details and how the younger characters had striking resemblances with their future characters.
All the characters brilliantly interpreted their roles, and the chemistry between Shawn Faqua and Efe Irele was amazing, their love was beautiful to watch. Shawn Faqua and Kate Henshaw’s hausa and ibo intonation were remarkable too.
Najite Dede, the main character, won our hearts with her facial expressions, and her professionalism was faultless!
Niyi Akinmolayan, in a recent interview, revealed that ” top on his list is finding actors that were going to be really dedicated to the work, people who cared about their crafts enough to put in that amount of work.
Najite is a fantastic actress
According to him, Najite is a fantastic actress (and a director) who understood all the nuances, subtle messages, and even the subjects that the film was pushing, so it was very easy to get around.
“Shawn is a fantastic guy, I have seen him audition once, so when he came for this audition, he was the guy! Efe has worked with us before, so we know what she can pull off. There are certain things you want people to do as a couple in a film, and you need to be sure that they are comfortable and professional enough to do it.”
He described Kate Henshaw as a veteran, adding that she particularly understands these kinds of films in a way many actors don’t.
He, however, noted that it was interesting because she had been called for a different character, and while script reading was being done, she was reading for the character she eventually played.
“She got into the Calabar woman role easily, she was enjoying it, and it hit me — just look at that! This role is yours!
“Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi, of course, a fantastic actress from Tinsel, wanted to work with her. It didn’t really take much convincing to get her.
“Another person that I was really excited to work with is Femi Jacobs, he turned out to be one of my favourites in the film. The first day he was on set, and he opened his mouth to talk, we felt like we hit the jackpot!” he said.
Our verdict
Of course, the House of Secrets is not without its flaws, the beginning was a bit boring and paced sluggishly; as a matter of fact, many impatient viewers will be quick to call the movie ‘boring’ or slow, however, it gradually became enjoyable, suspense-filled, and unpredictable.
In conclusion, The House Of Secrets is not your regular Nollywood movie, and it’s evidently glaring that a lot of work went into the production. It’s a breath of fresh air to recent movie content from Nollywood. From us at Kemi FIlani, it is a 7/10.
