Set on Halloween night (although you would not know that but for a passing mention), Alice (Moa Myerson) and her daughter Lynn (Honor Davis-Pye), attempt to sleep in a women’s shelter, having finally left Alice’s abusive husband. Lynn does not care for shelter life, and, missing her house and toys, leaves her mother tossing and turning as she wanders the shelter, observing what appears to be the nightmares of the other residents of the shelter.

In a House, At Night is a slow burn, atmospheric unfolding of a night in a women’s shelter as viewed through the eyes of a seven year old girl. Despite the reality of the setting, the film eschews realism, in favor of a much more artificial, theatrical vibe (this is not a criticism – merely an observation).

Writer/director Tomás Paiva Ferreira and cinematographer Tom Barker offer a steady stream of long, languid shots. Water dripping as a shower curtain and hand hang silhouetted next to a tub. One wonders if the person in the tub is dead. The visual is evocative, beautiful, and ominous, but she is not dead. Just lying in the tub, staring at the door. The entire film could be set to the soundtrack of dripping water, signifying the passing of time in a domestic space, both maddening and yet utterly silent other than the drip.

This is not a film for those looking for masked killers or demon-possessed children. Instead, In a House, At Night is an artistic rumination on childhood in transition, in which real-world horrors manifest within the sight of a child who has already seen too much.

7 out of 10