4/5 stars Charting the changing fortunes of a stately British town house, this eerie and darkly comic stop-motion animation follows the residence’s evolution from its construction, through renovation, to disrepair. Penned by Irish playwright Enda Walsh, whose previous film work includes the screenplay to Steve McQueen ’s Hunger , The House is composed of three free-standing yet complementary short stories, directed by Emma de Swaef and Marc James Roels, Niki Lindroth von Bahr, and Paloma Baeza respectively. Part one, titled “And heard within, a lie is spun”, is a Faustian tale of gothic horror, in which an impoverished family agrees to relinquish their modest abode in return for the newly constructed residence of the title. No sooner have Raymond (Matthew Goode), his wife, and two young children moved into their palatial new home, however, than they discover the terrifying reality of their deal with the mysterious Mr Van Schoonbeek. The second chapter, “Then lost is truth that can’t be won,” unfolds in the present day, as a desperate and debt-ridden property developer – an anthropomorphic rodent voiced by Jarvis Cocker – prepares to view the house in a make-or-break deal. His open house is beset by problems, however, ranging from inappropriate hors d’oeuvres to elusive loved ones, peculiar prospective buyers and an infestation of disgusting fur beetles. Finally, in “Listen again and seek the sun”, set in the near future, the house is surrounded by an apocalyptic flood that has driven away all but two desperate tenants, who have nothing to offer feline landlord Rosa (Susan Wokoma) in the way of rent beyond freshly caught fish and chakra crystals. The arrival of a new guest, the free-spirited Cosmos (Paul Kaye), only further disrupts Rosa’s efforts to keep things together. Produced for Netflix by London-based Nexus Studios, The House retains a delightfully tactile quality throughout its cautionary tales exploring the perils and financial burden of homeownership. The house itself remains largely identical throughout, while its occupants switch from rag dolls to rats and bugs, and eventually Louis Wain-inspired cats, infusing the project with a magical and timeless dollhouse quality that works wonderfully with its evolving tone that goes from horror to comedy of errors to whimsical escapism. The star-studded voice cast, which also includes Mia Goth, Miranda Richardson and Helena Bonham Carter , only further add to this unique and transporting experience. The House invites the spirits of everyone from Henry James to Busby Berkeley to wander its endless corridors and secret cellars. The House is streaming on Netflix. Want more articles like this? Follow SCMP Film on Facebook