The Old House: A weird little cartoon trip

Is it worth the watch?

Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for black-and-white animation that feels like it was drawn during a heavy rainstorm. If you want a tight, logical horror story, steer clear. You’ll probably hate it if you need your movies to actually follow a plot from beginning to end.

But if you like watching Mel Blanc do his thing before he was, you know, everyone, this is a fun little artifact. It’s got that specific chaotic energy that reminds me a bit of Felix the Cat in Skulls and Sculls. Just pure, unadulterated nonsense.

Notes from the couch

The house itself is less 'haunted' and more 'possessed by a cranky animator.' There’s this one sequence where the walls literally start breathing, and it’s genuinely unsettling in a way that modern CGI just can’t replicate. It feels tactile, like you could reach out and touch the ink.

The kids? They’re basically just blank slates for the house to mess with. They run, they scream, they get flattened like pancakes. Typical 1930s stuff. It’s funny how they never seem to actually get hurt, despite the house trying its best to turn them into wall decor. 🏚️

• The sound design is surprisingly crunchy.
• Some of the shadows look like they were drawn by someone who hadn't slept in three days.
• The pacing is frantic, kind of like Out of Place, where everything just happens all at once.

There’s a moment where a chair grows teeth. I don’t know why. It just does. It’s not explained, and the characters barely react to it. That’s the beauty of it, I guess. It doesn't care if you're confused.

I found myself wondering if this was the inspiration for some of the weirder scenes in Kid Days. There's a certain look in the eyes of the characters when they realize they're stuck—it's fleeting, but it's there. Blink and you'll miss it.

It’s a short, weird, messy little film. Sometimes that’s exactly what you need on a Tuesday night. It doesn’t try to be anything profound, and that’s its saving grace.