There’s one thing that scares me more than anything else these days, and that’s nuclear devastation. Not to be a downer, but between mankind’s proclivity toward destroying each other, incompetent monsters in charge of countries all over the world, and the forced induction of AI into our military systems, the future looks far from ideal. Enter what just might be one of the scariest films of the year…A House of Dynamite.
The atomic-sized catch? Director Kathryn Bigelow’s (Near Dark) new film isn’t technically a horror movie. Of course, what we define as horror differs from person to person, but to place the political thriller in the genre may be a stretch. Still, that doesn’t stop Netflix’s recently released movie from being utterly terrifying.
Courtesy of Netflix
What’s A House of Dynamite About?
After a single, unattributed nuke is launched at the city of Chicago, a frantic race begins to find out who fired it and what the response should be. Through various perspectives, we watch as members of the U.S. government, all the way up to the President (Idris Elba), struggle to decide how to respond with only minutes at hand. Whatever decision they make, it could destroy the human race as we know it.
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A Chilling Warning
At first glance, you may not think A House of Dynamite is all that scary. Despite coming from the director behind films like The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty, the intensity of A House of Dynamite pales in comparison to other nuclear thrillers such as War Games. Some of that’s because the story frequently jumps back in time to show us how it all unfolds through a different perspective. While that can be a fascinating insight, it breaks the tension, allowing the audience too much time to breathe. And even though the film features a heavyweight cast consisting of Elba, Jared Harris, and Rebecca Ferguson, to name a few, a lack of character development lightens the load of worry we otherwise have for their safety.
Courtesy of Netflix
No, what makes A House of Dynamite truly terrifying arises less from the film itself and more from the idea of it. The thing that Bigelow’s latest does exceptionally well is paint a clear picture of not just the complexity of everyday decisions concerning national security, but the pressure of making those choices within minutes. By the end, the filmmaker allows us a deeper understanding of the fact that at any moment, one false move could be the end of everything. Throw in the knowledge that the characters in the movie are actually somewhat good at their jobs, and you can begin to see what makes A House of Dynamite so damn scary.
So, if you’re up for a little existential dread, stream Bigelow’s A House of Dynamite on Netflix. And for more recs like this, make sure to follow me on Bluesky @werematt.
Categorized: Streaming News
