South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival – Dale’s House (2021) is a TV show, or soon-to-be TV show anyway, that will be horror-themed with a comedic bend. Dale’s House Episode 1, directed by Kat Whelan, is making its premiere at SXSW Online 2021 as part of the “Episodic Premieres” category, standing out among the other supernatural/horror TV projects with its dry humor.

Dale’s House stars Julie Lake and Matt Kirsch, who are also the writers, co-directors, and co-producers of the show and play Nilly and Ben, respectively. The pilot introduces us to the duo getting reacquainted after they are both called (or rather emailed) regarding a house-sitting opportunity. Having fallen out years before, the pair reluctantly agree to watch the house together, bonding over the weird “neighbor” Dana (Sandi McCree) and their life failures. Their evening is interrupted by an ominous phone call that sets their nerves on edge and causes their minds to start seeing things, things that are hopefully not real.

Dale’s House seems like a great concept for a limited TV series, it would be interesting to see how the story could evolve while it is centered around a specific house — they can’t stay in the house forever, can they? What they did capture with the first episode looks promising, although I fear despite its great direction, cinematography, and witty writing, that the story may not do these other aspects justice. However, with the showing seeming to plan on 30-minute episodes, it could be that there was just not enough time allotted to the first episode to give a better sense of what the actual problem for these characters will be.

All that was revealed was a few choice, effective images of what looks to be the monster for the TV series — a bipedal unicorn-like creature wearing a suit. It sounds ridiculous, but the monster is styled in a way that is pretty scary, and the monster’s demeanor is creepy, as it moves slowly, silently, and seems to have a looming presence in the show. The driving force behind the likability of this show I predict will be its characters, with the pilot presenting 3 that were each lovable and 2/3 that were relatable. I believed the longtime friendship between the main characters, and though the Dana character skirts magical-Negro trope territory, I can see her involvement in any supernatural shenanigans being highlights of any episode she is to be in.

Overall, Dale’s House delivered horror through its demonic, cryptid-inspired monster, and certainly through its eerie musical score, and furthermore, the episode delivered comedy through passive-aggressive banter, blatant foreshadowing, and the acting performances full of knowing facial expressions and purposefully awkward moments of conversation. The only downside is that it seems that this we-got-a-monkey’s-paw type horror seems to be the go-to for indie movies with a millennial tone these days, and this too seems to be a part of that influx. It is the kind of horror-comedy that seems targeted specifically towards millennials, full of existential angst from early quarter-life crises, but as a millennial myself, I am not mad at Dale’s House in the slightest.

Dale’s House reviewed as part of our South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival coverage.

7 out of 10