As a film about a chef trying her best to succeed, this is a good film. As a spooky film about a chef in a haunted kitchen, it’s a little less so. As a story that eventually leans into a previously undefined message, it’s interesting.

House of Spoils stars Ariana DuBose as a hot new chef for a fancy restaurant who leaves for her own restaurant. A run down filthy place with bugs and mold that she whips into shape…or tries to. There seems to be a ghost lurking about, making her life and her kitchen a nightmare.

This is a pretty good chef life film… not nearly the best of a small sub-genre, but still a pretty good one. You want a film about someone trying to beat the odds and whip up adventurous foods? This is that movie… though perhaps a little filthier, a little moldier, and a little squirmier than usual.

Because it does double duty as a decent horror film… though probably more impactful as a personal nightmare for actual chefs. For regular folk, maybe it doesn’t hit quite as hard. Even DeBose’s chef eventually says “Enough with the spooky shit” near the end of the film. Agreed.

That said, it has a final act reveal and message that is interesting and impactful… but perhaps a little unearned. I mean, I like where it goes, I like what it says, but I don’t think there were any hints that the story was going there. Everything seemed ok if a little icky in the kitchen but not sure how that dovetails into the final act.

So it’s an uneven film but I think it’s a pretty good movie about a chef and her kitchen. As a horror movie, maybe that angle wasn’t necessary. But it’s still watchable and fairly interesting.

Score: 82