How ‘House Party’ Went From a College Idea to a Classic

Reginald Hudlin believes everything happens for a reason, and his career seems to back that up. Long before House Party became one of the most popular films of the 1990s, it was just an idea Hudlin had while he was still in school. Now, with the movie released in 4K Ultra HD from The Criterion Collection, Hudlin is looking back on how a simple student project turned into something much bigger.

When House Party was still in its early days, Hudlin already sensed he was onto something special. He shared with PEOPLE that he remembers showing the film alongside other student work and noticing how audiences reacted.

"I remember when it was still just the student film, sometimes I would show in double features with Spike Lee's college films and I was like, 'Wow, that's pretty good. It's really playing.' So there was just the excitement of like, 'Oh, you did something,' " he told the outlet.

That feeling only grew once the film moved closer to release. One moment, in particular, made it all feel real.

"And it really came home when we had a rough cut screening of the movie on the Fox lot. We were trying to get to the lot, but there was terrible traffic. And I'm like, 'Oh my God, I'm going to be late for my own screening.' And I realized the traffic was from people trying to get on the lot to see the movie. I said, 'Whoa, this is big. '"

Audience reactions sealed the deal for Hudlin. Once House Party started screening in front of crowds, the response was impossible to ignore.

"From that to Sundance, we did it at a midnight screening and people went crazy, so they added all these additional screenings because everybody wanted to see it and we won awards. So it's just been literally a wonderful ride from the beginning."

At that point, the film was no longer just a passion project. It was a hit.

Hudlin originally paid for the movie himself and imagined casting "some baby hip hop act." That plan changed when New Line Cinema stepped in with a surprising idea.

"They had recently, successfully sued Will Smith because on the Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince album, they illegally sampled from Nightmare on Elm Street. And as part of the settlement, they had to do a movie for New Line," he explained.

New Line suggested casting Will Smith and Jazzy Jeff, but the meeting did not go as planned.

"So New Line was like, 'Hey, why don't you cast a movie with them?' I said, 'That'd be great.' So I met with their manager, who said, 'We're not making a movie with you. Who are you? We got a big Hollywood deal.' "

Even though that idea fell through, Hudlin holds no grudges.

"Their life turned out fine, even though they weren't in House Party. And it kind of worked out for me, too. So it would've been awesome, but it was not meant to be."

Kid n' Play ended up starring in the film, and their energy helped shape the movie’s tone. Hudlin says the cast felt like real classmates, figuring things out together.

"For the most part, all of us hadn't done this before. Kid 'n Play had never been in a movie before. I had never made a movie before. The most experienced person was Tisha Campbell. She was in Little Shop of Horrors and she was in School Daze, so she was the veteran," he explained.

That shared newness created lasting bonds.

Thirty-five years later, House Party still finds new fans.