THE HAUNTING first trailer for His House has been released today.

Written and directed by Remi Weekes, the horror film follows a young refugee couple Wunmi Mosaku and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù as they adjust to their new life in a small English town after fleeing war-torn South Sudan.

While in reality refugees experience horrors as they as they endeavour to escape threats they face in their birth countries and build new lives in different lands – for Bol (Dìrísù) and Rial (Mosaku) must also confront an unspeakable evil lurking beneath the surface.

Audiences will no doubt make parallels between the well documented mistreatment of refugees and the experiences of the film’s leading characters, but Weekes said he wanted to step away from social commentaries and move into a space more “psychological, emotional and personal”.

Speaking of his debut feature film, the British filmmaker said: “His House is a haunted house story about two immigrants trying to make a home in a foreign country. Unlike traditional haunted house stories where the protagonist might be able to escape, our protagonists – two displaced asylum seekers – do not have the privilege to simply leave. Rather, they are stuck having to survive within their house. This is often the case in the UK, where asylum seekers have to follow draconian rules when given accommodation. This is also often the case with trauma – you’re stuck having to find ways to survive your grief, and finding ways to heal within it.”

Weekes, who grew up in the UK surrounded by first, second and third generation immigrants, was inspired by conversations, observations and experiences around immigration he has had.

“Being a minority in the UK, often, you tend to be torn between two places. There is one part of you that wants to assimilate and fit in and disappear. And there is also the other side of you that wants to rebel and reject the orthodoxy, to seek belonging closer to your roots. These two sides are often at war, and this battle is at the heart of the film,” he said.

Watch the trailer for His House below:

His House will be released globally on Netflix on 30 October.