I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House - 2016
By The Bottom Reel Editorial Team ·
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House (2016)
Oz Perkins’ Gothic Whisper of a Ghost Story
Overview
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House is a 2016 gothic supernatural horror film written and directed by Osgood "Oz" Perkins. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2016 and debuted on Netflix worldwide October 28, 2016. It’s a slow-burn, literary haunted house story that’s more about dread and atmosphere than jump scares.
Plot
Lily Saylor Ruth Wilson is a nervous live-in hospice nurse who moves into a secluded, mold-stained New England house to care for Iris Blum Paula Prentiss, an elderly, reclusive horror novelist suffering from dementia. Lily narrates from beyond the grave: “I am the pretty thing that lives in the house,” and reveals in the first minutes that she turned 28 but won’t live to see 29.
As Lily cares for Iris, she discovers The Lady in the Walls, Iris’s most famous novel about a woman named Polly Parsons whose husband murdered her with a hammer and hid her body behind the wall. Iris begins calling Lily “Polly.” Lily finds black mold growing from a wall and later sees the ghost of Polly Lucy Boynton. The lines between Iris’s fiction, the house’s past, and Lily’s reality collapse. Polly’s ghost visits Iris, whispering in her ear. When Lily investigates, she sees Polly and dies of a heart attack. Days later, Mr. Waxcap Bob Balaban finds both women dead. Years later, a new family moves in, watched over by Lily’s ghost.
Perkins said the film’s theme reflects his own attempts to connect with his late father, Anthony Perkins.
Cast & Crew
Lily Saylor – Ruth Wilson
Iris Blum – Paula Prentiss (her first major film role in 30 years)
Mr. Waxcap – Bob Balaban
Polly Parsons – Lucy Boynton
Young Iris – Erin Boyes
Director/Writer – Oz Perkins
Producers – Rob Paris, Robert Menzies
Cinematographer – Julie Kirkwood
Social Impact & Reception
The film became a lightning rod for “love it or hate it” reactions because of its glacial pace and poetic narration.
Critics: Mixed to positive. Rotten Tomatoes reports 59% of 22 critics gave it a positive review, with an average rating of 5.8/10. Metacritic assigns a 68/100 “Generally Favorable” score from 8 reviews, with 63% positive and 0% negative.
Praise focused on atmosphere: RogerEbert.com called it “an atmospheric take on the haunted house flick that works more with dread and the looming specter of death than the traditional tropes”. Village Voice said it’s “the very best of gothic horror, that which needles at your insecure core”. AV Club gave it a B+, noting Perkins “turns a simple ghost story into an exercise in extremely prolonged unease”.
Negative takes: Variety wrote that “the film's atmosphere can not overcome its minimalist and familiar writing”. Many viewers called it “genuinely the worst film I have EVER watched” and “WAAAY TOO SLOW”.
Audience: Divisive. Metacritic User Score is 4.8 “Mixed or Average” with 33% positive, 36% mixed, 31% negative. Fans describe it as “beautiful, eerie, creepy, and atmospheric” and “a dreamy nightmare”. Detractors said “staring at my wall was more entertaining” and it has “no cohesive storytelling”.
Social impact: The film cemented Oz Perkins as an arthouse horror director after The Blackcoat’s Daughter. It’s frequently cited in discussions of “slow cinema” horror and female-led gothic stories. Its Netflix release made it widely accessible, and it’s become a reference point for horror that prioritizes mood over plot. ScreenRant noted reactions were “very divisive” and it’s “the definition of Love it or hate it”.
Budget vs. Box Office
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House was released directly to Netflix with a limited theatrical run. Netflix does not report box office, and no domestic or international gross is listed.
Production Budget: Not publicly disclosed. As a small Canadian indie produced by Paris Film Productions and Zed Filmworks, estimates place it in the low seven-figure range, but no official number is available.
Because it was a Netflix acquisition, profit/loss is measured by streaming viewership and critical prestige rather than ticket sales. The film helped build Perkins’ reputation before Longlegs (2024).
Ratings
IMDb: 4.8/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 59% Tomatometer from 22 critics; audience score not specified in the main page but user reviews are highly polarized
Metacritic: 68 Metascore “Generally Favorable”; 4.8 User Score “Mixed or Average”
Rating: TV-14. Runtime: 87-89 minutes.
If you want slow, literary horror that feels like reading a Shirley Jackson novel, this is it. If you want traditional scares or clear answers, you’ll likely be in the “tear your eyes out from sheer boredom” camp.