DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery (2022 Video) User Reviews

It was good to hear from Matt again

[margineanvladdaniel · 7/10 · 18 July 2022]

But this short loopy Groundhog Day episode movie didn't bring the epilogue I thought it would. It got some good points, but not enough to impress me. All things been said, it's time to say goodbye. Thank you for the design, the stories and the characters thid saga brought. Hope they will rise to its level, at least! Peace and love!

I liked it

[ashfordofficial · 7/10 · 19 June 2022]

A narrative sequel to Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, set after the events the said film, with the same quality animation style, talented voice cast and a well written story.

An overall conclusion to the DC Animated Movie Universe.

Fell flat, plus derivative in the extreme

[wyldemusick · 5/10 · 3 June 2022]

I was expecting to like this a lot more than I did, but there's barely enough to make a short film, and what's there is derivative of other things - Constantine working towards breaking out *immediately* made me think of the "Heaven Sent"/"Hell Bent" episodes of "Doctor Who," and it's hardly the first time Constantine has played games with selling his soul. The repeating slaughter and friends becoming demons gets annoying by the third time around and fast-forward fodder by the twentieth. The revelation that the Spectre didn't do this - he had a benign fate planned, in a way - and it's John himself is...sigh. John's ultimate fate is left unclear, but I imagine John's terror is over being reborn into a new cycle of life where he'll pretty much experience the horror and misery yet again.

Speaking of derivative, the score composer probably owes John Carpenter royalties. Those sounds and arpeggios and portentous chords were awfully familiar.

Felt deceive by this.

[Arch-Carl · 28 May 2022]

For one only one short story about 25mins long actually was about conatatine and while that was good the rest was not.

To start was about offer characters that I didn't even know and sorry to say was just boring.

Good idea but they don't quite land it

[Milk_Tray_Guy · 7/10 · 10 December 2022]

The idea is an interesting coda for Justice League Dark: Apokolips War, and it may even turn out to bridge the gap between the DCAMU and its replacement, the so-called 'Tomorrowverse'. But they don't quite pull it off. Whilst there is definitely an intentional dark humour to some scenes, others that are clearly meant to be more serious also raise an unintentional laugh or two (some of the gore is bordering on Pythonesque). Matt Ryan is of course perfect as John Constantine, and the rest of the voice cast are solid. Special mention to Lou Diamond Phillips, who does a very good job as The Spectre. 7/10.

Trapped in a Nightmare

[Mysterygeneration · 6/10 · 22 March 2024]

The always endearing Matt Ryan as John Constantine puts him in a terrible situation in this animated short from DC Showcase. Constantine finds himself trapped in the House of Mystery, a place infamous for its strange and lethal residents, and made to repeat a horrifying cycle. He wakes up every day to confront fresh threats and horrific deaths, only to return to the beginning and lose all memory of the previous cycle. Constantine must find a means to escape his perpetual captivity in addition to surviving the horrors of the house as he struggles with his situation.

Matt Ryan's return to the role will please fans of the character, as he brings his distinctive voice and sardonic charm to Constantine. A story set in the House of Mystery would be great for the eerie atmosphere that the animation style manages to produce. In the short film, Constantine repeatedly relives a fatal incident, giving a sinister twist to the beloved "Groundhog Day" idea.

Some viewers may find the main plot a little repetitious, especially if they are familiar with the "Groundhog Day" cliché. With barely twenty-five minutes, the short film leaves little opportunity for character growth beyond Constantine. Although some people think the animation style works well for horror, others might think it's a little too crude.

Meh

[mentiramivida6 · 6/10 · 7 June 2023]

I recently got access to HBO and tried to watch these two animated Constantine pieces. All this did was make wish I could get into comics but I hate the writing style (if I'm going to read a picture book I still prefer longer stories with occasional pictures). The writing and directing style are far better on this version than the other (city of demons). I was shocked it's the same voice actor seeing as their accent was milder in this piece (or maybe they were acting harder in the other one and strained more, who knows).

This isn't my animation style so that was still off putting but the writing and directing style definitely helped consume this scooby doo cartoon. Being a scooby doo fan will definitely help you watch this to the end. It took me about three days because I am no longer into scooby doo cartoons.

Hoping this is an intro to a continuation

[twilightshadows-428-400303 · 9/10 · 30 August 2022]

I love Constantine. He's one of my favorite DC characters, and there's far too little of him beyond the comics and graphic novels. They finally had a good start with the live action series, but then they stupidly cancelled it. In true DC fashion they followed with 3 animated films that centered on him and were even better. But then the animated movies went in a different, and not so great, direction with nothing more with Constantine. Not that I don't like the other characters when the stories are good, but lately the animated universe has been kind of hit or miss. This, however, felt like a short return to both Constantine and the better animated storylines. This is, however, a short that is part of a series of other unrelated shorts. The run time for this segment is about the same or less than animated series eps. And while some shorts are stand alone, this is a continuation, so you have to have seen at least JL Dark Apocalypse for it to make sense. But as part of that story, it's an excellent contribution to the DC animated verse. Matt Ryan, who so perfectly embodies Constantine, continues in the role, and the tone and style are similar. But it's just a tantalizing glimpse of what's happening with Constantine and a brief peek into the Spectre. I'm hoping this means they'll be continuing with more follow up from JL Dark Apocalypse and specifically with more of Constantine's story. This is good for what it is, but we need more.

Trash

[rckhound · 1/10 · 14 May 2022]

I like Constantine, and Matt Ryan. This short is garbage. DC has the gaul to charge $30 by adding 3 other shorts that already existed. Pure greed. Part of the DCAU streak of terrible post apokolips war movies.

Criminally underrated

[Perc3pti0n · 10/10 · 8 May 2022]

This showcase is a great 8 at least. It really left my mind thinking and astound. No idea why it's at an average of 6. It was a pleasant surprise for me when I realized it's a continuation from the most recent Justice League Dark movie. It's definitely worth a watch.

Waste of time...

[bbkg79 · 1/10 · 16 May 2022]

Just looking for some escapism. I love the John Constantine character, so I was excited to see that there was some new material. Only to end up disappointed with a mediocre short, and then three other stories behind it. That had nothing to do with Johnny boy. Smh.

underrated

[aniruddhawaghmare · 9/10 · 22 May 2022]

It is continuation of justice league dark i mean i get it should've been a movie but this really good it bloody gore filled with violence it was awesome everyone should watch it.

Boring and dull.

[peter-jonssonxp · 2/10 · 18 May 2022]

It feels like just when the short started, it ended.

Nothing gained, no new information leaving much to be desired.

Even when it tries to be funny, it falls flat.

They try to make the story bigger and grander, but the plotholes are way too big and breaks DC's own inuniverse rules even thinking for a second makes the whole story just fall apart.

Meh, it's whatever

[trexdrew-35-405604 · 3/10 · 7 August 2022]

Overall it's pretty average, not too good not too bad. It started strong and took a nosedive from there. The Constantine portion of this "film" has the perfect setup and bills itself as an epilogue to Apokalypse War with the same art and voice acting. Perfect! Sounds amazing and sign me up! City of Demons was great and the animation of the DCAU is lightyears better than what they're currently using. Then it takes the nosedive once that setup is done. John wakes up in the House of Mystery with all the good quality animation (and ideas) drained from him! Oh no! He opens a door to everyone he's ever loved in a room saying it's his birthday complete with his own kids he had with Zatana. Then everyone dies like always. John goes through this again and again...and again and again and again and; is this too much? Yeah it felt the same in this too. They show John in a hell loop of average proportions many many times to obviously pad out the episode. Eventually we see the demons he's sold his soul to come to collect and he uses them to break out. Only to come face to face with Specter who put him there in the first place. Wouldn't you know it this wasn't hell it was just made that by himself, whoops! But now the universe has come to collect and nobody can save him. The end. Yeah it wasn't satisfying to watch either, it didn't scratch the itch I had for more Constantine and more quality animation from the DCAU. It was a 25 minute episode of an anthology you didn't know was an anthology till you happened to catch the description after you clicked play. If you like Constantine and the movies he's featured in, you probably should skip this one. I don't have a problem with the themes presented in this but the execution of them was average to maybe even below average. Maybe someday they'll bring the live action show starring Matt Ryan back to a streaming platform and we can enjoy that again. Until then we'll just have to watch the other Constantine films again.

Quick rundown of the other shorts:

Kamandi: it was ok but not my thing. They were all trials to show you that even you too can exemplify the qualities of the lost Man of Steel. Animation was still pretty bad and uninteresting and it felt rushed.

The Losers: no relation to the live action film also on HBO that shares the same name, though equally bad. The animation was the worst of all and honestly so was the plot. I love dinosaurs and even that wasn't enough to save this short. The plot is about an unexplained machine ripping time open and the Chinese agent trying to get her hands on it with the help of the Losers. It's about as well written as that description so that's all you really need. Also a warning, the dog dies. It ends with more of a whimper than a bang by not even showing the other side of the rift.

Blue Beetle: I actually enjoy 50s style Batman and old Scooby Doo that this was clearly modeled after. It's cheesy but if that's what you're into it's fun but the shortest of them all. Plot is as basic as it needs to be for about a 15 minute episode but it gets the job done I guess. It's what honestly earned a point to take this from a 4 out of 10 to a 5 out of 10 for me.

Total trash, unnecessary and big disappointment

[nilay-69186 · 1/10 · 28 June 2022]

Animation is totally trash and story also it can be good if they keep old animation style bcoz it was watching like someone else and if we talk about story it totally unnecessary story i don't know why the create this the story not give any satisfaction after apokolips war well they can end this with that flash successfully change the timeline.

Disappointed, deceived & swindled

[agamemnon1007 · 4/10 · 29 May 2022]

Well, I'm a fan of DC and although I never got into Kamandi or The Losers, I have liked the Charleston comic's characters since Crisis. Potentially, the writers had the basis to craft a better story about the House of Mystery. Having John Constantine be stuck there and get killed over and over and over was pointless & redundant (and I love the Spectre's for of Justice.) They underused a lot of the mystical characters like the Spectre & Etrigan, as well as characters from the House of Mystery: Cain, Abel or the House itself. I don't remember reading too many House of Mystery comics when I was a kid, but the ones I did were pretty cool and supernaturally weird. The Constantine "movie" was just a disappointment and not very good, to put it bluntly. And I don't recall that it said that this was a short story when I bought the DVD for $24.99. Also, the other shorts on the disc have been in previous DC animated movie compilations. Every DC animated movie has shorts related to either the theme, the story or the character of that movie. I guess they just decided, "Hey let's all put these ones previously used under the DC showcase monitor." That wasn't in the marketing. Heck, if they would have released a really cool figure, such as Etrigan, with this disc, I wouldn't have been so slighted. It's just pure laziness on the side of the DC higher-ups who decided on this disc / movie. It's bad enough that the comic books are getting inundated with crappy writing and stupid story lines. Now it seems it's trickling down to the animated universe as well. I'll have to really think about purchasing the next DCAU disc.

Well, sure, why not?...

[paul_haakonsen · 5/10 · 11 May 2022]

I sat down to watch the 2022 DC animated short feature "DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery" as part of watching a couple other of the older DC shorts. I am only vaguely familiar with the Constantine character from the DC universe, so I wasn't really harboring much of any expectations here.

Writer Ernie Altbacker managed to put together an adequate enough storyline here. However, it just wasn't one that I was particularly overwhelmed or thrilled by. Sure, "DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery" could be watched for what it was, but it wasn't as outstanding as some of the previous shorts I have watched already.

I will say, though, that the art and animation style in "DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery" was good, and it definitely helped to lift up the overall enjoyment of this 2022 short.

Now, I am sure that there are fans for this 2022 short animated DC movie out there, fans of Constantine of course. I was just mildly entertained by the storyline here, so this is not something that I will be returning to watch a second time.

My rating of "DC Showcase: Constantine - The House of Mystery" lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars.

An Insult to fans of the DCAMU

[totaldramafanatic · 1/10 · 5 September 2023]

Not only was JLD: Apokolips Dump a HORRIBLE 1 star movie, but this film is literally no better. It continues the studio's efforts to pretentiously insult anyone who liked the DCAMU universe by further trying to not only justify the events of that film, stomp it's feet down and refuse to restore the universe to a state before that sadistically evil film, and furthermore insult you. It teases you, reminding you not of the universe's happy times from before the final film but instead of the horrible post-prologue scene after it had already started. The entire plot is a nothingburger, preaching to the audience about how there is no saving the DCAMU's universe or reversing what has happened to it. There is no hope. This movie is just a bitter reminder that there is no point to ever revisit the DCAMU or any of it's films, nor be invested in any of it's ideas or characters. That is all this movie sets out to do. We are never seeing the best animated Superboy ever again, let alone any of the other DCAMU characters - and that's that. Anyone who actually liked the DCAMU should honestly be insulted with this hateful short film.

Meh, just skip all the other shorts

[aithneparker · 3/10 · 4 September 2022]

The actual Constantine tale was an interesting watch, however short and repetitive with the absolute worst ending just stupid.. the other two parts are close to unwatchable and completely unoriginal as if someone was given an assignment in 12th grade to come up with a handful of stories with the most cliches as possible with themes from 1950-60s "adventure" cartoon. Even though I scrubbed through them I wish I skipped more. Have fun you're better off watching crap like the Herculoids Jonny quest and the like. But if you like vintage DC stuff you might like the other crap ones👍🤷..

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