With The Bear, kitchen dramas have become trendy again. As if the trials and anxieties of working in high-pressure situations in the kitchen were not enough, the new Blumhouse offering throws in another element to deal with: a ghost. The chef in question here is Academy Award-winner Ariana DeBose, whom you might remember more as the BAFTA host who went viral due to her iconic line, “Angela Bassett did the thing.” Alas, here it is her who is doing all the things and then some more- leaving her job, selecting a haunted mansion, fighting ghosts, having nightmares, and cooking to save her life. Even after doing so many a thing, she cannot save House of Spoils. 

House of Spoils plays it safe

Writer-directors Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy play it too safe here. There is not enough thrill, not enough daring or indulgence to extract some sort of unease with the character's insecurities. The straightforwardness with which the narrative proceeds becomes its main weakness- as we follow an unnamed chef (Ariana DeBose), who leaves her prestigious restaurant after seven years, with the determination to start her own. With the help of an investor named Andres (Arian Moayed, who is too Succession-coded here to make any impact), they plan to open some sort of a ‘Destination Restaurant,’ aka just for the vibes! It does not help when she herself does not trust the first vibe that this remote mansion gives: creepy.

Next, our chef is too busy to ease herself in this mansion all by herself, but of course that does not go well. She tries gardening but that does not end well either, as she takes a day or two to realize that the place is infested with insects. These tiny insects creep up everywhere; in the kitchen, rotting the bread she makes from scratch, and then takes hold of her nightmares. There are young chefs joining (led by Euphoria's Barbie Ferreira), and she has to trust her instincts to come up with a menu as quickly as possible.

A bad aftertaste

Ariana DeBose rises above the material she's given, making her chef a woman who must not let her guard down and keep it under control. She's nervous yet unravelling, scared but also determined. Yet none of that overdrive distills itself into the script of her film, which is always playing it safe. Because the film itself is so predictable and reserved to take any risk, her performance seems out of place at times. The reasons and revelations, when they arrive, are quite poignant in the larger context of the film, but is barely able to make any impact towards the end.

House of Spoils is too distracted by its own choices to make any commentary about consumer culture. The finale leaves a laughably bad aftertaste. There is not enough meat here to chew, not enough texture in its construct to ponder upon, and far too few thrills that ultimately leave you hungry for more. No chef!

House of Spoils is available to stream on Prime Video.

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