The Marvel Cinematic Universe has a tendency to bring unsuspecting actors to their projects, whether they’re blockbuster films or streaming on Disney+. Like Kathryn Hahn’s show-stealing performance as Agatha Harkness in WandaVision, the more recent show Loki was no exception to this trend. While the show brought familiar faces back to the screen like Tom Hiddleson and Owen Wilson, it also introduced viewers to lesser-known actors. In addition to showcasing Sophia Di Martino as Sylvie, Loki may have been the first time audiences have seen Wunmi Mosaku on screen.
Mosaku stars as Hunter B-15 — a new character created for the Loki series — and was significant in the plot of the first season, discovering the secrets of the TVA in parallel to the God of Mischief’s journey. But the Nigerian-born British actress has been working long before her time in the MCU, with roles in HBO’s Lovecraft Country and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. One of her finest performances, though, is in the Netflix horror film His House.
Released on Netflix in 2020, His House is the directorial debut of Remi Weekes and stars Wunmi Mosaku and Sope Dirisu as a couple, Rial and Bol Majur, who have fled from South Sudan. Viewers don’t get the full scope of what Rial and Bol went through, only seeing the aftermath of their harrowing journey on a boat to Europe. After time in detention, the two are granted asylum in Britain, where the government grants them a house to live in. The house is on the edge of London, with peeling paint and racist neighbors. They are warned by their caseworker Mark (Doctor Who’s Matt Smith) to follow the rules laid out or face the risk of deportation.
As the couple attempts to adjust to their new lives, cracks begin to show — and not just in their psyche. Both notice the unsettling and sometimes terrifying nature of their house. Bol sees hands coming out of the holes in the walls, and goes as far as taking a hammer and smashing haphazardly to find whatever is lurking inside. Rial hears voices from every corner. The couple’s scares have one thing in common, though: both are seeing traces of their daughter Nyagak, who passed away on the trip to Europe, along with countless others fleeing South Sudan. While dealing with the intense grief of losing a child, Bol and Rial must assimilate quickly to their new lives, from changing the way they dress to how they eat dinner.
What puts His House among other socially aware horror films is its direct linking of trauma and horror. The ghost, or "apeth" as Rial calls it, that invades the Majurs' house is the manifestation of their experience of escaping South Sudan. The apeth refuses to let the couple forget their past, repeating over and over that they “stole it” from somebody else, presumably those who didn’t complete the journey to Europe. This personification of survivor’s guilt is powerful — and with intense visuals of drowned people and grabbing hands — frightening to watch.
While it seems at first glance that Bol is more important to the story, it’s really Mosaku’s quieter performance as Rial that drives the film. Rial is the one to finally address the oddities of the house and gives name to the threat that looms in its walls. When she tells a story of an apeth in her village in Sudan, Mosaku delivers her lines with deep acceptance of the beast, simultaneously unsettling and endearing when she recalls her life back in Sudan. Rial is also the one out of the couple to divulge more about their time in South Sudan and why they were forced to leave in the first place. She is a mother grieving, drowning in her regrets, and is forced to face them alone while her husband refuses to acknowledge the past.
His House culminates in a third-act twist that knocks viewers to their knees, wondering how the narrative was able to lead them down the path only to move over at the last moment. Along with a twist, the final half-hour gives a deeper look into what Bol and Rial endured to be where they are now, only adding greater emotional weight to everything that has come since their asylum. The last few minutes of the film belong to Wunmi Mosaku, as Rial refuses to be controlled by the ghosts and her past, attempting to find a middle ground where she can have a new life, yet still remember what brought her to where she is now.
It may be a while before fans see Wunmi Mosaku again as Hunter B-15 in Loki, but perhaps that break is the best time to dive into the actress’ filmography. A great place to start is His House.
His House is now available on Netflix.