The Network's Creepiest After-Hours Video Will Leave You Anxious
This House Has People In It is a 2015 entry in the channel's long-running Infomercials series, which features bizarre, frequently disturbing content ranging from fictitious medication ads to imaginary talk programs.
Designed to look like security camera video from within a suburban home, this hair-raising short film documents a family as they proceed through what appears to be a perfectly normal day.
The Household Dynamics
Parents Tom and Ann disagree about how to handle their teenage daughter, who has firmly chosen to remain prone on the ground in what is likely an rebellious act against her parents.
Meanwhile, her brother Jackson prepares for his forthcoming celebration, while his elderly relative remains focused on a peculiar TV show about modeling with clay instead of paying attention to the newest addition to the family: her baby grandchild.
In the lower level, a repairman named Dennis attends to the plumbing under the kitchen.
Something Is Off
The initial clue that all is not well comes early β captions on the video labels each person in the house (and even Dennis the handyman) as "test cases," implying the family's security system is being surreptitiously monitored.
The next indication that something is amiss appears when Tom and Ann realize Madison is not simply on the floor. She's stuck in it.
Behind the Scenes
Directed by Alan Resnick (who also appears briefly as the sculptor on the television), This House Has People In It does not rely on sudden frights, it's rather about a steadily building sense of looming dread.
Though it's only around 12 minutes long, this eerie production is filled with a hard-to-describe sort of strangeness that lingered in my mind for a long time, and could make it impossible to return to sleep if you're unlucky enough to catch it airing at 4 in the morning.
However, that's fine β since you will be unable to sleep regardless, you could explore the extra hour of video the director provided as part of an ARG he launched when This House Contains People first aired.
