Aahana Swrup
The Amazon Prime horror film ‘House of Spoils’ follows the story of an ambitious chef whose dedication to the craft is challenged under the roof of a house haunted by a long-gone past. After the protagonist—the Chef (Ariana DeBose)—quits her stable job to open a restaurant of her own with her business partner, Andres, she finds herself moving into an old remote home with a cryptic garden in its backyard. However, as she settles in and fixes up the place, she realizes something sinister lingers within these halls. Consequently, as the pressure of opening night builds in the face of dubious investors, the Chef’s mania grows influenced by the estate’s stirring mysteries.
The film presents a compelling descent into madness narrative wherein the viewers can’t help but watch with rapt attention as the protagonist spirals out of control. However, throughout this spiraling, the Chef sports a distinct anonymity—at least when it comes to a given name.
The Significance Behind the Chef’s Obscured Identity
Throughout the film, the viewers become intimately acquainted with the protagonist, who is referred to only as “The Chef.” Nevertheless, despite accompanying the character on a wild ride where all of her flaws and insecurities are brought up to the surface, the viewers remain in the dark regarding any actual surface-level details about her. In the story, Ariana DeBose’s character is always simply “The Chef,” defined through her profession and little else. The same is an intentional tactic equipped to highlight a crucial aspect of the character.
As the film revolves around the Chef’s venture into opening her own restaurant, the narrative dives headfirst into the all-consuming reality of that life. In order to achieve her dreams, the Chef must give herself entirely to her aspirations, maintaining a single-minded focus on her goal. For the same reason, she lives, breathes, and sleeps cooking in the weeks-long build-up to the opening night. Thus, everything the character does—even in her limited recreational time—ties into her profession.
As such, the protagonist lacks a clear identity outside of the kitchen—which the narrative further highlights by confining her to the title “The Chef” throughout the story. Consequently, this showcases her inescapable obsession with her craft as it takes over her entire being. The decision is also reflective of the all-consuming nature of a higher-up job in the culinary industry. A lot of the story’s thematic focus rests on exploring the toxicity of a typical restaurant work culture. From the fast-paced, demanding hours to the gluttonous investors who suck the authentic joy out of the craft—the profession comes with plenty of pitfalls.
Therefore, by robbing the Chef of her actual name and solely identifying her through her profession, the film scrutinizes the idea of her individualism. Interestingly enough, the witch is the only other central character in the story who receives a similar treatment. Consequently, the two characters mirror each other from the start, equally stripped of their identities in favor of the roles others wish to project onto them. However, both characters go on to make their titles their own—ensuring they encompass their identities as expansively as a given name might.
