Why Rial From His House Looks So Familiar
His House brings timely political commentary to the horror genre. The movie comes from writer-director Remi Weekes — his first full-length feature film — and it follows a young Sudanese couple, Rial (Wunmi Mosaku) and Bol (Sope Dirisu), as they flee violence in their homeland for a better life. A case worker by the name of Mark (Matt Smith) places the two in a worn-out house complete with peeling wallpaper, encouraging them to "fit in." The couple receive threats from their neighbors outside of their new home, but there are other horrors inside the house, too. They begin hearing noises come from inside the walls, and these voices begin taking on bodily forms.
The film was met with great praise when it debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2020. Netflix soon picked up the rights, and soon, you'll be able to have the perfect horror thriller to watch this Halloween when it debuts on the streaming service on October 30th, 2020.
Between all the scares and terror, though, you may find yourself thinking that the woman playing Rial, Wunmi Mosaku, looks strikingly familiar. It turns out she has quite the extensive resume, and chances are good you've seen her in at least one TV show or movie in the past — including a prominent role in one of the best TV shows of 2020, so far. First, though, let's go a bit further back.
Wunmi Mosaku had a key role in a big DC Comics film
Wunmi Mosaku's resume goes all the way back to 2006. Early in her career, she appeared in numerous television series, including 32 Brinkburn Street, The Body Farm, and Blackout. However, perhaps the first place that most general audiences probably recognized her for the first time was in the role of Kahina Ziri, from Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
Kahina is a Nairomian citizen whom Lex Luthor (Jesse Eisenberg) coerces to testify against Superman (Henry Cavill) to the Senate committee. Despite both of her parents being alive, she tells the Senate how her parents were killed in an attack that escalated after Superman became involved. When asked what she would say to Superman if given the chance, she delivers this poignant jab at the hero: "To look him in his eye and ask how he decides which lives count and which ones do not."
Kahina eventually has a change of heart and tells Senator Finch (Holly Hunter) the truth about Superman's involvement, but it proves to be too little, too late: Luthor's goons promptly assassinate her.
2016 proved to be a banner year for Mosaku, who also played Beryl in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, as well as Katie in the "Playtest" episode of Black Mirror. And it would only be the beginning of what would be a truly outstanding career.
Wunmi Mosaku went on to have prominent roles in Luther, and The End of the F***ing World
Following high-profile roles in incredibly popular franchises, Wunmi Mosaku turned her sights back toward television. She played Olivia Greenwood in the six-party BBC miniseries Fearless. The show follows a human-rights lawyer who attempts to prove a convicted murderer is actually innocent of a crime that took place 14 years earlier.
Mosaku has made a career of playing figures of authority, as evidenced by her next role as DC Teri Darego in the Netflix series The End of the F***ing World. She appears in the show's first season, as a detective who chases after the doomed lovers on the run from their parents and the law.
More recently, she fulfilled a personal goal by landing the part of Detective Sgt. Catherine Halliday on season 5 of Luther. She actually auditioned to be part of the show back in season 1, but the role ultimately went to someone else (via Indie Wire). After seeing the show, she knew she had to be a part of it, and while it took some time, she eventually made her way onto the cast.
Wunmi Mosaku was most recently seen in Lovecraft Country
His House isn't Wunmi Mosaku's first foray into horror. It's not even her first horror project to come out in the year 2020, for that matter. Fans of the hit HBO series Lovecraft Country may recognize Mosaku as Ruby Baptiste, the woman singing on stage during the neighborhood's block party, in the show's first episode.
Lovecraft Country follows a young man traveling throughout 1950s America during the time of segregation as he searches for his missing father, encountering all kinds of Lovecraftian monsters in the process. Ruby is often an antagonistic force to sister Leti (Jurnee Smollett), due to her sibling missing their mother's funeral. Season 1 of Lovecraft Country may have just ended, but it's clear Mosaku's career is only skyrocketing from here.
You'll be able to see her next when His House is released on Netflix on October 30th, 2020. Check it out: it promises to be a smarter kind of horror film to watch this Halloween, that's already earning incredible praise from critics.