House of Spoils: A Haunting Blend of Witchcraft, Culinary Innovation, and Female Empowerment
Story written by Aylin
Danielle Krudy and Bridget Savage Cole, directors of House of Spoils
“ Every woman goes on her own mission to combat the world, make peace with it, and find her own power. We hope the film makes them feel less alone in that journey.”
Released on October 3, 2024, on Amazon Prime, House of Spoils brings together witchcraft, culinary brilliance, and a woman’s journey to power. Directed by Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy, the film stars Academy Award® winner Ariana DeBose as a chef who gets the opportunity to open her own restaurant on a remote estate and Barbie Ferreira as her sous chef. What starts as a dream come true quickly transforms into an eerie nightmare as Chef is faced with bizarre events and a malevolent spirit that lives in the home. Together, DeBose and Ferreira’s characters face a series of strange and haunting events that ultimately test their sanity, creativity, and survival.
For Savage Cole and Krudy, this film was a chance to explore themes not often touched on in mainstream cinema. We spoke to Bridget Savage Cole and Danielle Krudy to learn more about this project, working with Ariana DeBose and Barbie Ferreira, and the film's message about female empowerment.
Below is a transcription of the interview. Minor edits have been made for brevity and clarity.
(M)Aylin for The Mujerista
(B) Bridget Savage Cole
(D) Danielle Krudy
The Mujerista (M): House of Spoils explores themes of witchcraft, culinary innovation, and female empowerment. How did you all approach blending these elements, and what message do you hope audiences, especially women, take away from this film?
Bridget Savage Cole (B): You just named the stew that is our movie. That's the world we're trying to explore. We definitely think of witches as an unexplored figure in storytelling, and we’re interested in the idea of witches—whether people are witches or not—and what we can learn from this archetype. A witch is an intuitive woman who takes her power from herself, not from others. We wanted to see how that concept could influence our main character, who is a chef. That's the other part of the stew.
Danielle Krudy (D): I was thinking about that second part of your question—what do we hope people take away from the film? We hope that women, even if they’re not chefs, feel seen by the struggle, the journey, and the triumph in the movie. Every woman goes on her own mission to combat the world, make peace with it, and find her own power. We hope the film makes them feel less alone in that journey.
Ariana DeBose as Chef in House of Spoils
M: You have an amazing cast, including two incredible Latina actresses, Ariana DeBose and Barbie Ferreira. Can you share your experiences collaborating with them?
B: We love them!.
D: They're movie stars! They were just so good, so fun, joyous, hardworking, and dedicated.
B: They liked the story, they were into it, and they wanted to do it right. I felt like we all connected on a certain level on the project. It was really cool to feel Barbie’s enthusiasm. She's really into cooking, and her mom and aunt are chefs. As for Ariana, we knew she was a beast and could deliver the high level of technique required for the cooking scenes. They threw down!
Barbie Ferreira as Lucia in House of Spoils
M: The film centers around a woman trying to prove herself in a male-dominated industry. How did your personal experiences, both in the film industry and the restaurant world, influence your portrayal of this struggle for creative expression?
D: The journey, while Bridget and I each have our own early chapters of the journey, we actually both had a lot of overlap in terms of the kinds of experiences. I remember joining the camera crew as a young 20-year-old girl and how intimidating it was. The atmosphere on set—it felt like stepping into big shoes. It was really vulnerable, and I learned how to put a guard up. I built tough armor to survive a lot of those years and then have been trying to undo a lot of that. So, in many ways, this story feels deeply personal.
B: Yeah, we really connect with this journey and the work we’ve had to do to undo some of that learning of what a set looks like and how everyone needs to prove themselves. I remember being like, “Man, I really have to know my technical stuff too,” because that was my armor too. I had to really know it because I felt questioned all the time and sized up, you know? This was also years ago. I really hope these industries are changing and that it’s easier for a 23-year-old female camera intern to feel safe on set and feel nurtured. We’re just trying to do our version of it right now in real time. We definitely wish we had a model like the chef’s journey when we were that age.