'House of Spoils' Reviews: "Delicious food, darkened bruja folklore, and Ariana DeBose? House of Spoils is a complete meal"

         On October 3, 2024, Prime Video released 'House of Spoils', which has earned a score of 80% on Rotten Tomatoes. In the film, "From Blumhouse, House of Spoils follows an ambitious chef (Ariana DeBose) as she opens a restaurant on a remote estate where she battles kitchen chaos, crushing self-doubts... and a haunting presence who threatens to sabotage her at every turn." The ensemble cast includes Arian Moayed, Barbie Ferreira, Amara Karan, and Mikkel Bratt Silset. Read the full review round-up below.

        Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com says, "Jason Blum is a powerful, underrated force in the industry, but I wish he would empower his chefs to cook more interesting horror movie meals." Adding, "At one point, a restaurant critic (Amara Karan) destroys our heroine by telling her that her food has no risk, no soul, and no voice. I wouldn’t go quite that far in describing “House of Spoils,” but it’s fascinating to watch a movie that criticizes how creative people can be hampered by their refusal to take risks in a film that does exactly that."

Photo by Dyan Freedom on Unsplash

       Matt Donato of Daily Dead notes, "Delicious food, darkened bruja folklore, and Ariana DeBose? House of Spoils is a complete meal, albeit smaller bites. Filmmakers Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy lose themselves in witch’s brew of naturalistic psychological horrors, filtered through the cutthroat business of restauranteurship. Don't expect The Menu — Cole and Krudy find salvation in soil borne worship that connects with Mother Nature's literal roots. There's so much power in thematic ideas, yet storytelling feels restrained in unfortunate ways. Cole and Krudy replicate Chef's Table cinematography as immaculate dishes head to tables, juxtaposed against unappetizing rotten visuals. However, there's an apprehension that leaves the audience still craving something more."

       Belen Edwards of Mashable writes, "House of Spoils juxtaposes the lush world Chef enters with the cold, hyper-masculine cooking world she came from originally. It was her mentor and former boss Marcello (Marton Csokas) who made that claim about chefs tasting blood. He also asserted that cooking takes balls, a kind of masculinity Chef tries to emulate in her interactions with her co-workers, much to Lucia's disapproval. The sous chef describes fine dining as a "big swinging dick club" and decries some of Chef's "macho posturing." Contrast that with Chef's new gardening focus, which she and Andreas describe as "wild, feminine." In leaving the highly masculine world of her former workplace behind, is Chef discovering and embracing a new part of herself, one she didn't cultivate in favor of molding herself to the standards of other big shot male chefs?"