The House is Innocent (2015) dir. Nicholas Coles

Many have laughed in the face of the Reaper, but few have chosen to move in with him.

Not much to add to this fleet piece about an eccentric couple who purchased a notorious murder house in Sacramento. It’s maybe more whimsy than should be constructed in an area zoned as too horrifying for (living) humans. But Tom Williams and Barbara Holmes use a goofy sense of humor to prod the boundaries of good taste and begs the question, where does tragedy reside? Is it contained within an address? And for how long?

Nicholas Coles introduces the bizarre, grisly details in a way that Williams and Holmes might see them – a story macabre enough that, when seen from the right distance and angle, crosses the fine line between horror and humor. A septuagenarian serial killer has a different connotation than your typical axe murderer, even if the victims are just as dismembered. It’s a natural human tendency to laugh and it takes somebody with a little less reverence to break the ice.

The House is Innocent dug up an interesting story and matched its tone with a light touch.