Home Movie (2008) Reviews

• Come on.... "Unbearable Tension"????

  dschmeding2009-06-02

  Honestly... how fake can comments get?? "Home Movie" is like most of the pseudo-realistic hand-held cam movies rather dull. It takes pretty long to get to the psycho-kids go mad part and before you have to watch 2 kids not speaking a word, killing frogs, throwing stones at their dad and then killing every pet in the house. The basic idea of kids sliding into madness and crucifying the family cat, decapitating the dog and whatever else their plotting could have worked but problem is that "Home movie" is incredibly stretched and totally unbelievable. First of all... a psychiatrist who treats her own kids on heavy meds is far from being believable (especially because both parents don't act hysterically until the end). Then the whole Home-Cam premise where either the parents film or the kids falls apart when they film themselves breaking down or the mother flees in terror but still takes the camera. It makes as little sense as the fast-forward and repeat scenes thrown in randomly (I am guessing its supposed to what the kids always watch on their TV that is blurred out) or the supernatural elements with doors opening and the kids appearing/disappearing magically on several occasions. I didn't feel any chills from the kids acting because its inconsistent... first they don't speak at all, then they act normal, finally they take the camera with a "lets have some fun" comment and finally they are totally mad. In between two small kids overpower their parents in their sleep, tie them up and drag them through the house all with the parents knowing they are sick in the head and dangerous?? Come on... The funny thing is that I got the impression that the makers of the movie think its smart to throw in hints in the parents actions like the dragon-story, trash-bag comments and silly lock-picking lesson that re-appear in the children acting crazy. But its pretty cheap shots... if you wait for a creepy chiller. None here... rather watch "Poughkeepsie Tapes", if you want to be creeped out by kids watch "the children", if you want a creepy psychological study watch anything else. "Home Movie" is trying hard to be smart and different but ends up being boring, inconsistent, unrealistic and topping it off with a giant let-down in the end. Just one question to the makers... who's fast forwarding and why in the scenes that were chosen. I see no logical pattern to all this no matter from where I look at it. I guess like often with that kind of movies... its better not to look too close.

• Very disturbing, marvelous low-budget horror thriller

  Naneaux2008-08-12

  After I watched this, my sleep was disturbed for several nights running. Much more interesting than any teen slasher pic you've seen, this descent into every parent's nightmare has a solid script, is full of top-notch acting from all the players, and the kind of psychological tension that makes you hold your breath. Add a big twist at the end and you've got an evening at the movies that you'll be talking about with your date for some time to come. I'd also like to say that the young Williams children, who play the roles of "Emily" and "Jack" are particularly effective. This show is slated for airing on IFC soon, and I hope it gets the attention it deserves.

• "Against our better wishes, we have to keep our attempted murderer kids in the house overnight." Come on, you can do better than that...

  Phillemos2008-11-10

  I tried really hard. I wanted to like this movie so badly. There's a lot to like about it -- solid acting performances, underlying tension between the two parents, a lot of which seems to stem from the father's own abuse as a child, a slow buildup of psychotic activity by the kids leading to an uncomfortable sense of fear. But the movie's climax ruins it all. After the two kids snatch their friend and take him to their secret hideout out back, where he's bound and gagged, the father finds them and apparently the kids are charged with kidnapping and attempted murder. Then there's a cutaway scene of the two parents are sitting in front of the fireplace. They tell the camera that, because it's Easter Sunday, "Against our better wishes," the police are allowing the kids to stay at home until their arraignment the following morning. Right there, I turned to my friend and we both said, "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard." I don't care whether it's Easter, your birthday or Christmas, the police aren't going to let you stay at home if you're facing attempted murder charges because you just wrapped a classmate in trash bags, tied him up and tortured him, even if you're a kid. And of course, this leads to the kids systematically terrorizing, and, seemingly, murdering their father and torturing their mother, who presumably is on death's doorstep herself as the movie ends. (Which brings up another problem; by the time the movie ends it's clearly the following morning, so shouldn't the police be back by now to take the kids to their court hearing?) The attacking-the-parents plot line is fine. I expected that was going to happen at the end. I wanted it to happen. But surely the directors can come up with a better mechanism to get to the climactic conclusion than this. While there's a lot to like here, the lazy writing runs it all. A disappointing 4.

• Poor attempt

  hauntme2010-08-05

  I will start this review as positively as I can manage. The genre of documentary, POV, consumer-grade, hand held video films is one of my favorites. It is a direction cinema as art should be taking. Within these films, the fact that there are directors and actors involved in production is suspended. This method sustains a kernel of truth which allows for incredible levels of immersion and flow. Forgive me since I am reviewing this film from memory. This film begins with the director's Disneyland fantasy of an enthusiastic, life loving couple. The parents here are self absorbed and constantly inviting the camera into their painful attempts at enjoyment. They are caricatures, completely without wit or realism. The fact that the producer says in the extras that his 1st task was to avoid this result is evidence of the complete lack of rigor that went into the film. This product is way too glossy and hollow...the director allowing extra financing and the inept producer on helm completely destroyed whatever vision he had. Due to boredom I almost missed the key scene for the story arc: the bedtime dragon story. I did not bemoan it...pitiful writing I was rolling on the floor when the father (who is a priest for inexplicable reasons) start his chants and exorcisms. Predictable, unbelievable...the script and production on this was constantly tearing me away from the movie. Many scenes have difficultly explaining for the presence of the camera...aftermath diaries or clues would have been sufficient instead of filming every detail like an undergrad film student From the beginning I was on the side of the children. Like them, the viewer is left dissociated from the entire mess and wanting revenge on the blind, stupid, and raving spectacle in front of them.

• More effective than most films of this type.

  paragonofanimals2009-09-21

  Home Movie takes what you've seen done many times before in the hand held horror genre and turns it on it's head. What makes this film so different is that it has a strong and engaging character based story about a family of four doing their best to live the American dream and pairs it with some unsettling images and a real sense of dread throughout. I view this film as The Shining meets The Omen meets The Blair Witch Project. This is the type of film that stuck with me days after I watched it. The effectiveness of this film has a lot to do with how good the acting is. They don't overact or play it up for the camera, which makes it feel like your taking a genuine peek into life of this family. Bottom Line: This is a slow burning and unsettling horror film without the gimmick or stupidity you normally get with films of this type. I highly suggest it.