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Unfolding in what looks like a single take, Thomas Sieben sends his protagonist into a house that’s haunted by historical trauma

When Maria (Nilam Farooq) shows up 37 weeks pregnant at the attractive but remote country home of her husband Viktor (David Kross), you sense immediately that no good can come of this. If a character is pregnant in a film, it’s about even odds that said pregnancy will function as a way to increase their vulnerability – though not all films take this as far as this nifty little low-budget horror movie from talented German director Thomas Sieben, which combines the haunted house subgenre with pregnant-woman-in-peril to nicely nerve-jangling effect.

Occult horror always needs a starting point, a first evil from which the later ghosties and bumps in the night derive. Some films take as their inciting incident a broader historical crime or atrocity and it’s into this category Home Sweet Home falls.

★★★★

‘Riddled with tension and drenched in dread’

The Hollywood News

★★★★

‘Powered by an astonishing performance from Nilam Farooq’

Shadows on the Wall

Home Sweet Home: Where Evil Lives is on Digital Platforms in the UK and Ireland on 30th September 2024 courtesy of Blue Finch Film Releasing.

When pregnant Maria starts readying her fiancé’s family estate for bed and breakfast guests, something isn’t right; the power seems to be on the blink and strange noises become all too common. Determined to find the truth, Maria soon begins to realise that darker secrets than she could imagine are lurking in this house, and her soon-to-be-family’s past.

A terrifying single-shot supernatural horror, Home Sweet Home: Where Evil Lives is directed by Thomas Sieben and stars Nilam Farooq, David Kross and Justus von Dohnányi.

Home Sweet Home: Where Evil Lives is on Digital Platforms in the UK and Ireland on 30th...

In Berlin und Umgebung sowie in Nebra entsteht derzeit der Thriller „Das dunkle Vermächtnis“, den MadeFor Film für die Ard produziert.

Felicitas Woll und Torben Liebrecht am Set von „Das dunkle Vermächtnis“ (Credit: Ard Degeto Film/MadeFor/Aki Pfeiffer)

Nach einem Drehbuch von Thomas Sieben inszeniert Ziska Riemann noch bis 22. Juli in Berlin und Umgebung sowie in Nebra den Thriller mit dem Arbeitstitel „Das dunkle Vermächtnis“.

Felicitas Woll spielt darin die Fotografin Kim Wenrich, die aus Hamburg in ihre Heimatstadt Nebra in Sachsen-Anhalt zurückkehrt. Ihr Vater Paul (Elmar Gutmann) steht im Verdacht, seinen ehemals besten Freund Arko (Walter Plathe), mit dem er vor vielen Jahren die „Himmelsscheibe von Nebra“ aus der Bronzezeit, die als die älteste bisher bekannte Himmelsdarstellung gilt, gefunden hatte, erstochen zu haben.

Um den Fall zu lösen, ist Kommissar Ritter (Torben Liebrecht) auf Kims Hilfe angewiesen. Von ihr erhofft er sich, zu erfahren, wie aus den beiden...

In Dresden, Leipzig und Umgebung finden derzeit die Dreharbeiten zum Mdr-„Tatort: Siebenschläfer“ (At) statt.

Regisseur Thomas Sieben (rechts im Bild) mit den Darstellern Martin Brambach und Cornelia Gröschel am Set des „Tatort: Siebenschläfer“ (At) (Credit: Mdr/MadeFor/Steffen Junghans)

Nach einem Drehbuch von Silke Zertz und Frauke Hunfeld inszeniert Thomas Sieben noch bis 19. Juni in Dresden, Leipzig und Umgebung den „Tatort: Siebenschläfer“ (At).

In ihrem aktuellen Fall müssen Kommissarin Leonie Winkler (Cornelia Gröschel) und ihr Chef Peter Michael Schnabel (Martin Brambach) den Tod der 16-jährige Lilly-Marie (Dilara Aylin Ziem) aufklären. Das Mädchen war tot in einem See aufgefunden worden, nachdem es in der Nacht zuvor zusammen mit seinem Freund Pascal (Florian Geißelmann) aus dem Heim für Jugendliche, Siebenschläfer, abgehauen war. Von Pascal fehlt jede Spur und so veranlassen die Ermittler zunächst eine Fahndung nach ihm, bevor sie sich mal in dem Heim umsehen.

Das Heim unter der Leitung...

International sales agency the Playmaker has signed a deal with Blue Finch Film Releasing to distribute the one-shot horror film “Home Sweet Home — Where Evil Lives” in the U.K. and Ireland.

Thomas Sieben’s film, which made its world premiere in August at FrightFest in London, has its market premiere at AFM. The film, which is produced by “Resident Evil””” studio Constantin Film, will also screen at Imagine Fantastic Film Festival in Amsterdam and Splat! FilmFest in Warsaw.

In the film, Maria, a newlywed and pregnant, must uncover the dark secrets of her husband’s family, and escape their cursed house before the sinister forces consume her and her unborn child.

Maria is played by Nilam Farooq, her father-in-law is played by Justus von Dohnányi and her husband Viktor is played by David Kross.

“’Home Sweet Home’ is an accomplished feat of genre filmmaking, which does something fresh with familiar tropes.

One of two single take films at Frightfest 2023 (along with Thomas Sieben’s Home Sweet Home: Where Evil Lives), Failure captures a critical moment in the life of James (Ted Raimi), a 56-year-old CEO, a father to two daughters, and a man who has never been able to live up to his imagined picture of what his father wanted him to be. Life comes at him fast in this 87 minute drama as a lengthy process of deferring debts sees him reach the point where he has run out of options. He simply has no further access to cash. Either his beautiful family home or the factory which he has poured his life into will have to go.

This is not, as it emerges, really James’ fault. Multiple characters ascribe the company’s struggles to his father, and tell him that he has done well to keep it going for as.

Across Europe, Germany has won respect for its approach to education and the management of narratives around the Nazi era, taking responsibility for the sins of its past and actively engaging in efforts to prevent the growth of other fascist movements. There were, however, other dark episodes in its past (as in those of many of its neighbours) which have not faced the same kind of scrutiny. Thomas Sieben’s latest film, which screened as part of Frightfest 2023, brings one of them into the light.

Maria (Nilam Farooq) is eight months pregnant and somewhat fatigued, as if common at that stage, but she’s still busy, opening up the old Wellings house which belongs to her husband’s family, making plans for the B&b which she hopes to open there. In the early evening, as she looks around outside, she is approached by a neighbour, Mike (Anton Fatoni Schneider), who brings her.

Stars: Nilam Farooq, David Kross, Justus von Dohnányi | Written and Directed by Thomas Sieben

I do have a pretty poor reason for wanting to watch Home Sweet Home: Where Evil Lives. At least initially anyway because the reason being is that it holds the same title (Home Sweet Home) as the first book I wrote and released. Obviously, I then had a quick read of the synopsis and discovered that this a film that is shot in one-shot, real-time, and I got even more excited.

It’s not featured a whole lot in the genre but I love films that are shot with one shot. It seems like an incredibly difficult thing to achieve and it always impresses me. The script (and obviously the performances) have to be near perfect. Silent House and the exceptional One Cut of the Dead, have proved that it can absolutely work in horror.

In Home Sweet Home,...

The horror festival runs August 24-28 in London

Joe Stephenson’s Doctor Jekyll starring Eddie Izzard will have its world premiere at the UK’s horror and fantasy film festival FrightFest (August 24-28) as the full line-up is unveiled.

Izzard will play Nina Jekyll, the infamous scientist with a dark alter-ego, in a modern adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s book by placing a woman in the titular role.

Doctor Jekyll is one of 25 world premieres screening at the festival, which takes place at Cineworld Leicester Square in London.

Opening FrightFest will be the European premiere of Joe Lynch’s...

Freshly announced this morning, Home Sweet Home – Where Evil Lives will have its World Premiere at FrightFest London on August 28, and Variety shares a first-look image today.

Home Sweet Home – Where Evil Lives is said to be a “one-shot horror film told in real time,” and The Playmaker has signed with Constantin Film to handle international sales.

Thomas Sieben (“Kidnapping Stella”) directed the upcoming horror movie. “The film follows heavily pregnant Maria (Nilam Farooq) as she returns alone to the remote country house of her father-in-law (Von Dohnányi). She has no idea what secrets are lurking within.”

The plot synopsis continues, “As she investigates strange occurrences, including a sudden power outage while talking to her fiancé Viktor (David Kross), Maria descends to the basement and hears eerie noises and a mysterious breathing, unaware of a ghostly presence behind her.

“Determined to uncover the truth, she discovers a hidden...

The Playmaker has signed with “Resident Evil” producer Constantin Film to handle the international sales for its FrightFest London contender “Home Sweet Home – Where Evil Lives,” a one-shot horror film told in real time by director Thomas Sieben (“Kidnapping Stella”).

The film stars German A-list cast Nilam Farooq, Justus von Dohnányi (“The Experiment”) and David Kross (“The Reader”).

“Home Sweet Home – Where Evil Lives” will have its world premiere at FrightFest London, which runs Aug. 24-28. It will be screened in the Main Screen section on Aug. 28 at the Cineworld Leicester Square on an IMAX screen.

The film follows heavily pregnant Maria (Farooq) as she returns alone to the remote country house of her father-in-law (Von Dohnányi). She has no idea what secrets are lurking within.

As she investigates strange occurrences, including a sudden power outage while talking to her fiancé Viktor (Kross), Maria descends to the basement and hears...

Last year’s Munich break-out was Eva Trobisch’s ‘All Is Good’ .

The Munich Film Festival is proving to be the place to go to first catch films by rising German directors. All of the 18 titles in the festival’s New German Cinema line-up are world premeires this year and many have attached international sales agents ahead of their launch.

Ilker Catak’s romantic drama I Was, I Am, I Will Be opened the strand on June 28. Danish sales agent Level K took on its first ever German feature when it acquired the the rights to the film just before...

Pre-sales on Kidnapping thriller will kick off at Afm.

Munich-based sales outfit Global Screen has snapped up worldwide distribution rights to new thriller Kidnapping Stella and will start pre-sales on the title at this year’s Afm (October 31-November 7).

Kidnapping Stella stars Max von der Groeben and Jella Haase (from runaway hit Suck Me Shakespeer) alongside Clemens Schick. Thomas Sieben is the director. The film will be released in Germany by Universum Film in 2019.

The film is produced by Henning Ferber Filmproduktions (Henning Ferber), in co-production with SevenPictures Film with funding from Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the German Federal Film Board and the German Federal Film Fund.

New projects by the producers of Ida and Crulic are among 13 selected from Albania to Ukraine to be pitched at this year’s Connecting Cottbus East-West co-production market (November 6-7).

Poland’s Opus Film, which produced Pawel Pawlikowski’s multi-award winner Ida and co-produced Fatih Akin’s Venice competition title The Cut, and production partner Teamwork Production will be presenting leading Polish stage director Grzegorz Jarzyna’s Owl, The Baker’s Daughter, first pitched in public at the Polish Days in Wroclaw in July.

Romanian producer-director Anca Damian’s (Crulic) Aparte Film will be in Cottbus with In Perfect Health about the son of a judge looking for the reason for his father’s unexpected death and the rest of his life.

Other projects selected for the 16th edition include:

Alexander Kviria’s The Button, which is being produced by Ablabuda Film, the company set up last year by Tamara Tatishvili, the former...

Cologne, Germany -- Thomas Sieben's dark drama "Distance" took the top prize for best German Film at 2009 Oldenburg Film Festival, which wrapped up Sunday.

An unusual love story focusing on reclusive gardener (Ken Duken) who engages in indiscriminate acts of violence, "Distance" was the local stand out.

But the audience award went to an American film -- Judith Krant's globalization comedy "Made in China." The crowd-pleaser tells the story of an inventor of gag novelties who follows his American dream all the way to Shanghai.

"Made in China" swept the South-by-South-West Film Festival earlier this year, where it picked up the best film and special jury awards as well as the emerging woman award for director Krant.

Year: 2009

Directors: Thomas Sieben

Writers: Thomas Sieben & Christian Lyre

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: projectcyclops

Rating: 6 out of 10

Thomas Sieben's Distanz is a curious, stylish and enigmatic little film, about a quiet gardener called Daniel Bauer, who can't seem to shake the nasty habit he has for casual murder in his local park. The film begins with a montage of Bauer's daily routine at the botanical gardens where he works, we see him raking leaves and hosing down his tools, before heading to the park after work to lie in the sun and enjoy some peace, away from his demanding boss and the pretty secretary who makes eyes at him. Later that night he plays games on the bridge over a motorway, dropping stones onto the cars that pass below, which is our first hint that he's anything other than a shy loner.

Thing is, Bauer isn't a happy person.

Berlin -- Punks, killers and other upstanding citizens are the stars of the Berlin International Film Festival's 2009 Perspectives on German Cinema section.

Director Lars Jessen returns to his youth -- Germany of the 1980s -- for his Perspectives entry: "Dorfpunks." Based on the cult novel by Rocko Schamoni, it tells the story of a group a punk rockers who move to a tiny village in rural Switzerland. Jessen's tongue-in-cheek take on the '80s is familiar to fans of his debut, "The Day Bobby Ewing Died" (2005), which won the Max Ophuls Prize.

There's little to laugh about in Lars-Gunnar Lotz's psychodrama "For Miriam," which examines how a teacher is undone by an accident that results in the death of her best pupil's sister.

"Jedem das Seine" (Each to his Own) also looks at crime and punishment as two brothers meet up after years apart: one as a police officer, the...