Tubi Tuesday: All Through the House (2015)

A modern low-budget horror flick with tons of thrills, “All Through the House” does a lot with a little — tons of gory effects and a shocking twist.

In honor of the holiday spirit, all of this month’s Tubi Tuesday suggestions will be holiday themed. This week, we will be highlighting a low-budget, independent horror movie that absolutely surprised me:  All Through the House (2015).

The movie opens in a fairly bizarre way that may cause an eye roll or two. But trust me, this thing really shines after a bumpy start. How bumpy? An unseen figure stealing a Santa costume and a pair of garden shears, some gratuitous nudity as a woman takes a shower in the dark, and finally, the killer using the shears to dramatically castrate one of his victims.  Now, at first I’m thinking, WTF is this?

Modern low-budget films sometimes lean into absurdist comedy, for reasons I am not completely sure of. When ‘80s horror movies were absurd and over the top, it was accidental.  They were horror movies first and absurd second. After the opening of All Through the House, (Jessica Cameron, Ashley Mary Nunes, Melinda Kyring) I was convinced it was going to follow the trend of modern low-budget horrors and be a goof. But I was shocked to find out that I was dead wrong.

The movie progresses, telling a fairly convoluted story about a young girl who went missing many years ago and a lurking lunatic who escaped from the mental institute. But the story is only a tool to lead to murder.

This film relies heavily on practical effects that are absolutely amazing! 

Each time the Santa-clad killer chops off someone’s fingers, jams his garden shears into someone’s eyes or, as he does at least three times in the film, castrates someone, it’s done with fantastic, realistic practical effects.

My opinion of the film began shifting at about the fourth murder, where a character gets a pair of garden shears rammed through their head. It’s insanely gory and violent but done in such a great way that, despite the low budget, you cannot tell that the gore you are seeing is fake. Heavy applause for the special effects department.

Low-budget horror movies from the ‘80s were not only comedic by accident, they also had bizarre storylines by complete accident as well. The creators were trying to tell an interesting story that kept the viewer guessing until the very end. For instance, in Sleepaway Camp, the big reveal at the end is pretty bizarre and outlandish, but it was done in a very serious way. The story in All Through the House is equally bizarre and outlandish, but it’s also done in a very serious way.

All Through the House is an outstanding horror movie with a unique story, fantastic special effects, and a fair amount of frights. 

I was truly shocked by how this film progressed from its absurd opening to its shocking and brutal conclusion. This is definitely going into my yearly watchlist and should go into yours as well.

If you’re looking for an outstanding holiday horror that will immediately make its way to your go-to list, check out All Through the House, now streaming on Tubi.