Food is terrifying. Not just because of the calories or the price of organic eggs in 2026, but because of the sheer, raw obsession it demands. That's the nerve House of Spoils (2024) taps into. Released on Prime Video by Blumhouse Television and Amazon MGM Studios, this isn't your standard jump-scare flick where a killer hides in the pantry. Honestly, it’s a sweaty, high-pressure kitchen drama that just happens to be haunted by a witch. Or a gardener. Or maybe just the crushing weight of female ambition.
Ariana DeBose plays "Chef," a woman who leaves a prestigious position under a smug, ego-driven mentor (played with wonderful sliminess by Marton Csokas) to open her own farm-to-table restaurant in the middle of nowhere. It's a classic setup. But the "nowhere" in question is a crumbling estate with a history of occult rumors and a soil quality that's... questionable.
The Real Horror of the Professional Kitchen
If you’ve ever worked "behind the line," you know the real monster isn't a ghost. It's a broken refrigerator. It's moldy strawberries. It's a critic coming on opening night when your sous-chef hasn't shown up. Writers and directors Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy (who previously gave us the excellent Blow the Man Down) clearly get this. They use the House of Spoils 2024 setting to mirror the internal rot of the culinary world.
Chef is isolated. She’s broke. She’s trying to prove that a woman can lead a kitchen without becoming a tyrant. But the house—and the legacy of the "Witch" who lived there—starts to bleed into her sauces. Literally. There are scenes involving bugs and decay that will make you want to skip dinner. It’s gross. It’s tactile. It feels like you can smell the damp earth through the screen.
Why the "Witch" Narrative Actually Works Here
Most horror movies treat witches as cackling villains. House of Spoils 2024 does something different. It explores the idea of "spoilage" as a natural part of the cycle. The previous owner of the house wasn't necessarily evil; she was a woman who knew the land. She knew how to make things grow.
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There’s a specific tension between the "refined" world of fine dining and the "wild" world of the forest. Chef wants everything to be perfect. She wants the tweezers-placed microgreens and the spotless white plates. The house wants the dirt. It wants the ferment. It wants the things that have gone bad to become something new. This is where the movie gets smart. It suggests that to be a great creator, you sort of have to embrace the mess. You have to let things spoil a little bit.
- The cinematography by Eric Lin is lush but claustrophobic.
- The sound design uses the wet, squelching noises of food prep to heighten the anxiety.
- Ariana DeBose carries the entire film on her back, showing a descent into madness that feels grounded in sleep deprivation rather than just "magic."
Addressing the Backlash: Is It Actually Scary?
Let's be real. If you’re looking for The Conjuring, you’re going to be disappointed. Some critics and viewers felt the horror elements were too light. They’re not wrong. It leans heavily into "elevated horror" territory, which is a divisive term these days. It’s more of a psychological thriller with a supernatural seasoning.
The pacing is deliberate. Some might call it slow. I’d argue it builds a sense of dread that pays off in a way that feels earned, rather than cheap. The "spoil" in the title refers to the food, sure, but it also refers to the soul. How much of yourself do you give up to be the best?
The Ending That Everyone Is Talking About
No spoilers here, but the finale of House of Spoils 2024 subverts the "Final Girl" trope in a way that feels very 2020s. It rejects the idea that women have to destroy each other to succeed. It’s a bit trippy, a bit folk-horror, and very earthy.
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It’s a far cry from the sleek, cold perfection of The Menu. While that movie was a satire of the people who eat the food, this is a love letter (and a warning) to the people who make it. It understands that the kitchen is a place of alchemy. You take dead things—vegetables pulled from the dirt, slaughtered animals—and you turn them into life.
Practical Takeaways for Your Next Rewatch
If you’re going to sit down with this movie, don't do it on an empty stomach, despite the gross-out scenes. You’ll find yourself oddly hungry for bread and herbs by the end.
- Watch the background. The production design is packed with herbs and symbols that hint at the ending much earlier than you’d think.
- Compare it to The Bear. It’s fascinating to see how horror tropes can be applied to the same stressors we see in "prestige" kitchen dramas.
- Look into the folklore. The movie draws on the concept of the "Kitchen Witch," a common house spirit in European tradition meant to bring good luck and prevent pot-boilovers.
House of Spoils 2024 isn't a perfect movie, but it’s an original one. In a sea of sequels and reboots, seeing a standalone story about a woman, a garden, and a very haunted pot of stew is refreshing. It’s messy, it’s a little bit weird, and it stays with you long after the credits roll.
To get the most out of the experience, pay close attention to the soundscape during the cooking sequences. The clinking of metal and the searing of meat are intentionally mixed to sound like a battlefield. It’s a deliberate choice that highlights Chef's internal war. If you enjoyed the botanical horror of films like Annihilation, you’ll likely appreciate the way the greenery in this film feels predatory.
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Ultimately, the film succeeds because it treats its subject matter with respect. It doesn't mock the fine dining world, nor does it make the supernatural elements feel campy. It’s a grounded, gritty look at what happens when your ambition starts to rot from the inside out.
Check your own pantry before you start the movie. You might find yourself looking at that forgotten bag of potatoes in the back of the cupboard with a little more suspicion than usual. The film serves as a reminder that nature always wins, and in the world of high-stakes cooking, you’re either the gardener or the fertilizer.
What to do next
If you've already watched the film and want to dive deeper into its themes, look up the work of the film's food stylist, Zoe Hegedus. She also worked on Midsommar, and you can see that same "beautiful but disturbing" aesthetic in every dish served in the movie. Understanding the visual language of the food makes the supernatural transformation of the restaurant much more impactful on a second viewing.