Divisive horror film starring Oscar-winning A-lister called ‘a feast for the senses’ now streaming

Ariana DeBose’s new horror thriller is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video - but is this foodie fright fest worth watching this Halloween season?

House of Spoils stars the West Side Story Oscar-winner as an unnamed chef who bites off more than she can chew when she opens up her first restaurant.

Among the usual kitchen nightmares, she also has to contend with the malevolent spirit of the building’s previous owner who tries to thwart her new business venture.

Produced by Blumhouse, the studio behind M3GAN, The Invisible Man, Get Out and many more, the film was released this Thursday to a mixed response.

However, House of Spoils already has plenty of defenders who insist the supernatural thriller is well worth your time.

One horror-head on X (formerly Twitter) wrote: “#HouseofSpoils is actually pretty decent.

“Ariana DeBose gives it her all, the story is engaging & it has a unique mix of culinary drama & horror that helps make up for an underwhelming ending & lack of scares. Ironic that it’s better than 95% of Blumhouse’s 2024 theater releases.”

Another fan said: “New on prime: House of Spoils. This is not going to be for everyone but the folk horror vibe really got me. I loved it personally, fantastic female lead.”

“Good movie on streaming alert!” a third exclaimed. “House of Spoils, Ariana DeBose's new horror movie on Amazon, is super fun.

“Witchy, earth mother vibes. Plus, you get to hear Ariana scream "NO MORE SPOOKY S**T!"

Unfortunately, other viewers weren’t so impressed, with one critic calling it a “flavorless” horror flick.

“It lacked the ingredients to thrill you let alone scare you,” they added. “The earthy witchy spelly suspense bored me. #HouseOfSpoils rode the coattails of The Bear’s popularity but the horror narrative kept hitting the wall with a half-baked empowerment theme.”

The mixed reactions continued on the social media film platform Letterboxd, with one user admitting they were “sooo mixed on this”.

“It’s a feast for the senses for better and worse; a dark fairy tale for the girlies who used to make mud pies at recess and are now wayyy too emotionally attached to the bear,” they wrote. “A witchy cautionary tale couched in the world of haute cuisine — so you’d think it’d have more bite than it actually does!

“Unfortunately it’s more interested in grossing you out (fun) and then taking a baffling tonal swing to confront the image of “the witch” in our shared imagination (not fun; kinda preachy?)”

While another defender of the film said: “The Bear meets Midsommar. I loved it. The final act was way out of left field, and I love that it kept me guessing. And there were a handful of just ‘beautiful’ moments to round it all out and bend genre a bit.

“Great acting (Ariana DeBose jumped fields and really knocked it out of left field here), a chill-inducing set, and a fair few moments that will make your skin crawl.”

Many others have praised Ariana’s performance and invoked the film’s similarities to the FX series The Bear, but is that enough to make House of Spoils a hit?

House of Spoils is available to stream on Prime Video.