Home Movie

This is a really disturbing movie. The two children who are at the center of the story are some first grade psychos. I love the story that the mom and dad cannot accept the nature of their kids all the way to the end of the movie.

All performances are top notch and the actors really sell the story. The gore is understated but the chills are great. This is a really good one.

Not a lot to be said about this one unfortunately. I saw some people recommending it on a Found Footage page I follow. It was short so I decided to give it a chance. I could never really get into it though. I think Found Footage works better with the supernatural (about the only time I'll ever say anything positive about supernatural films). There was nothing here that the Found Footage concept added to, and in reality it probably took a lot away from the film. All it probably achieved was keeping the film ultra-cheap for the filmmakers.

It's not all bad here. The final sequence was reasonably well done and added a point or two to the film. Also there were one or two sequences earlier in the film that at least had me interested in what would happen next. I would've liked to see the film get a lot darker though. Found footage films have a tendency to get really dark and leave the viewer with a hopeless feeling. I never quite felt that way here. It's far from terrible, but go in with low expectations would be my advice. 5/10.

The Poes seem the picture perfect American family.

Dad David, (Adrian Pasdar) is a Lutheran minister and devoted husband to Doctor/Mom Clare (Cady McLain). They have two 10 year old children Jack and Emily (real life siblings Austin & Amber Joy Williams), and life is good. Events such as Halloween, New Year's eve and Easter are celebrated family affairs, captured for posterity on home video. Then things start getting kinda weird. Jack and Emily are starting to act rather oddly. Not quite their usual selves. Then weird stuff starts to happen. Clare is concerned and wonders whether their children need medical treatment. David isn't so sure, and wonders if there's something evil at play in their home. Especially when the kids complain about the man in their closet. Or are the kids lying? And it's all captured via camcorder as events then take a turn for the darker side still...

I'm not going to give a review of plot developments or give any spoilers regarding this film. What I will say is that Home Movie is a pleasantly surprising little pov low budget indy horror that while having a rather slow start, then takes a turn down a dark avenue and becomes a pretty creepy and disconcerting little film indeed.

My advice is not to read of any reviews regarding the actual plot and watch it blind, and buy into the captured on camcorder premise at face value.

Then turn out the lights, have patience with a rather plodding build up-it's a home movie after all, the essence of banality- and prepare to be creeped out.

For a POV horror it thankfully doesn't go nuts with the shaky cam, with much of the film comprising of steady shots, and for a low fi film, manages to get under your skin in parts.

Overall, a solid and effective little horror film, that's worth a look. At 77 minutes, it doesn't outstay its welcome either.

There tends to be opinions on online forums that lament American horror. My answer to that is take a look through their indy scene. There's quite a few little gems to find, and Home Movie is one of them. 7/10, a very pleasant little surprise.

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.

Some body needs a vicious spanking. This disturbing tale of a family gone horribly south laments that the end is not going to be pleasant, and it certainly does not disappoint. To eschew those moments of stupidity, where the characters behave with retarded capacity, is one necessity of the viewer, for these parents absolutely blow it at times. The acting was top rate for such an endeavor, with exceptional performances by the children, creepy little things that they were. Adrian Pasdar was a sheer treat to watch- what a ham. There are some fun connections between the lessons of the father and how the children take note and put words into discommoding action, all to wicked effect. For those not charmed by home movie style flicks, best to stay away. As well, this was a chilling affair turned dark as black towards its end- stay away happy happy joy joy fans. As to the rest, this short little psycho-thriller might just be reason enough to get those tubes tied. Mercie beaucoup.

Genruk

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