Director Stephen Folker’s spine-chiller drama film, House on Rockingham, centers around Mya, a brave girl who takes on a housekeeping job at the eerie house that belongs to Matt, an old man who lives on Rockingham Street. On a first glance, the house owner, Matt seems like your typical creepy guy, but there’s more to him than meets the eye. Matt is actually tied to Mya’s family’s past and had been involved in some really shady stuff about which we find out later through our protagonist, Mya’s investigation. So, what Matt’s dark secret is? Let’s find it out through the recap of House on Rockingham film.
Spoilers Ahead
Why did Mya want to live at Matt’s place?
House on Rockingham introduces Mya as a sweet and caring teenage girl who once had a sister named Elyse. Unfortunately, Elyse was abducted at a young age, whose absence left a severe scar on the family. Mya’s father never fully recovered from the trauma of that day, as it happened right before their eyes. After the mother’s death, Mya has been there to look after the house and their father. To run the house, Mya does odd jobs and has been working as a house cleaner, with the hope to find some lues about Elyse’s sudden disappearance. Mya has been diligently saving every penny from her cleaning jobs to fund her dream of attending college and studying nursing. But Mya received an eviction notice for her old apartment, which made her search for a new place to live without the burden of rent. That’s when she heard about a guy named Matt, who offered her a spacious upstairs room in his house at 630 Rockingham Street in exchange for cleaning services.
It seemed like a perfect fit for Mya, and being intrigued, she contacted Matt and arranged to visit his house. After arriving at Matt’s house, Mya was immediately struck by its eerie atmosphere. The outside walls were painted a bright red color, and the front yard was filled with dead leaves and trees. Inside, the house was filled with unsettling collectibles, toys, puppets, miniatures, and clowns. On top of that, the very owner of the house, Matt, had this creepy vibe with his aura and demeanor, and let me tell you, the actor Dave Juehring perfectly fitted the role, from his googly eyes, offering of sad clown gifts, and unsettling mannerisms to his crooked smile with yellow teeth. Even though the surroundings were quite spooky, Mya met Eileen, Matt’s sister, who used to live in the house. Eileen welcomed Mya warmly and offered to help her settle into her new room, which happened to be Eileen’s old room. Mya was actually grateful for Eileen’s kindness, and she felt relieved to finally have a place where she could live in peace. She was happy with her decision to move in.
Why did Emily want Mya to leave?
As Mya settled into the house and started living with Matt downstairs, she started hearing strange thuds and noises at night. Initially, she didn’t pay much attention, thinking it might be rats or something. However, as the noises kept on going daily, her suspicion grew. Matt’s instruction to clean the entire house except the basement was particularly odd, and it left Mya a little bit puzzled. Meanwhile, Emily, Mya’s friend, came to stay with her. She didn’t like the vibe of the place, especially Matt, who gave her the creeps. Mya didn’t pay much attention to Emily’s discomfort. The most troubling part was the strange smell coming from the house. Emily actually felt uncomfortable taking a shower and sensed that someone might be watching her, even noticing an odd odor coming from the water. Mya thought that the place was old, so she needed to make some adjustments. Besides, she thought, they were letting her stay there for free, so she did not mind going along with it!
One day, while Mya was out cleaning other people’s houses, Emily was waiting for her to return. Then, something strange happened. Emily went to find Mya and caught the owner, Matt, creepily looking at her! He asked her to come to his room to help move a dressing table. Emily was scared out of her wits—who wouldn’t be? In Matt’s room, Emily found it filled with toys, and she couldn’t understand why a grown man like him would be obsessed with toys and toy trains. Then, she noticed another locked room inside his room, sparking her curiosity. But being so close to Matt, with his creepy comments about her appearance and innocence, was too much for Emily to handle. She wanted to escape but didn’t know how! Just then, Mya burst in like a savior, saving Emily from the uncomfortable situation. Matt casually remarked that he would wait for another opportunity to take Emily’s help again, sending shivers down Emily’s spine! Emily rushed to Mya and begged her to pack her things and move in with her for her own safety. But Mya refused, disregarding Emily’s offer of help. After all, Mya thought Emily was a privileged kid who didn’t understand how hard opportunities like this were to come by! So, Mya told Emily to leave so she could find peace without Emily’s interference, and Emily left without bothering her further.
What did Mya find out?
Despite her doubts, Mya couldn’t shake off the feeling that something wasn’t right with Matt and Eileen. They seemed harmless enough, but deep down, she sensed there was more to their story. So one day, when nobody was around, Mya decided to snoop around downstairs, hoping to find out some clues about the strange noises she kept hearing. All she found was an old film roll. Curious, she had it developed by one of her photographer friends, and what they discovered left her speechless—photos of young girls, just like her sister, taken in secret. It seemed Matt and Eileen were up to something sinister. As Mya pieced together the puzzle, she realized they were the ones who abducted her sister when she was little. You see, Matt and Eileen worked as painters and construction workers in the locality, but since childhood, they have always been kind of lonely; they did not have any kids to play with. When Eileen grew up, she wanted to have kids but could not have any, so this is their way of taking little girls like Mya’s sister and for themselves. But she overheard that Matt wanted to sell the house and move on from doing all these anymore, but Eileen wanted to continue doing this. Mya knew she had to find those girls and put an end to this.
In House on Rockingham‘s ending, Mya found the two girls hidden in the basement behind a locked door. To Mya’s surprise, one of them was Emily, her friend! Mya quickly told the other girl to run to the neighbor’s house and call the police while she tried to find her sister. But tragically, Mya’s sister was already dead, along with many other girls who were abducted by Matt and Eileen. Meanwhile, Matt decided to end his miserable life by taking sleeping pills, tired of all the evil he had done. But the story wasn’t over yet! Just when things seemed to calm down, Eileen, armed and furious, stood before Mya! How dare she expose their secrets to the world! But Mya, fueled by rage and determination, takes a knife and slits Eileen’s throat, putting an end to the nightmare and seeking revenge for her sister!
