It turns out the scariest place to work isn't a haunted house or an abandoned asylum... it's a retirement home. James DeMonaco's The Home proves just that, delivering a slow-burn psychological horror experience that builds dread with every creaking hallway, awkward stare, and cryptic bedtime story told after dark. It's moody, gripping, and ultimately, unshakable, a horror film that knows how to get under your skin without resorting to cheap thrills.
Pete Davidson shines. Ever since Bodies Bodies Bodies, he's been quietly redefining what kind of roles he can handle, and The Home might be his best work yet. He plays Max, a troubled man sent to work at a retirement facility as part of a community service sentence. Max is sarcastic and detached, but there's pain behind his eyes, and Davidson walks the line between dark comedy and genuine fear with surprising skill. His performance feels grounded, especially as the story spirals into madness.
The setup could've been generic... "guy works in creepy place, spooky stuff happens" but DeMonaco, best known for The Purge series, infuses the film with a claustrophobic sense of paranoia. You can feel the walls closing in around Max as the residents' cryptic comments grow weirder and the staff becomes increasingly suspicious. And unlike 2023's The Rule of Jenny Pen (a retirement home horror film that dragged like it had arthritis), The Home knows how to pace itself. Every chapter pushes the mystery forward, no filler, no wheel-spinning, just a steady build toward something chilling and earned.
The supporting cast is a huge asset. John Glover, as a disturbingly charming resident, delivers a performance that's as enigmatic as it is unnerving. Bruce Altman adds quiet menace as one of the staff, the kind of guy who's always just too helpful. The film doesn't go for over-the-top monsters or gore, this is a psychological horror that plays in the shadows, thriving on uncertainty, whispers, and the ever-present fear that Max might be losing his grip on reality.
Visually, the film is drenched in muted tones and sickly yellows, echoing the sterile, fading world of the retirement home. Dream sequences bleed into reality so fluidly you start to question what's real right alongside Max. The sound design adds to the tension: distant cries, shuffling footsteps at night, the hum of fluorescent lights that feel like they're watching you.
The Home is a taut, eerie, and emotionally charged psychological horror film that doesn't just entertain-it lingers. Pete Davidson continues to prove his range, and James DeMonaco crafts a story that's rich with atmosphere and tension. This might be one of the year's biggest surprises, and easily one of the strongest horror entries of 2025 so far.
