Home Movie

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.

I found the film's clever concept and almost Spartan production a welcomed change to overwrought, special effects-driven horror flicks. This film's austerity nicely compliments its premise—namely, that these are a series of video clips that chronicle a family's shocking collapse under the weight of severe metal illness. I suspect anyone who has worked with families will appreciate the role denial plays in perpetuating and even facilitating dysfunctional behavior—even more so when it involves metal illness.

Contrary to the claim in an accompanying review, I find the disturbing behavior well (even clinically) explained and revealed at a pace that keeps the movie engrossing but plausible. I suspect parents who enjoy the reality/horror genre will find this movie especially engaging.

Sometimes I think i'll never see anything fresh and new because it's all been done before, and then I watched this. I was flipping through some on demand channels and watched the preview, had to order it. After the movie was done, I found myself thinking about it for days and wanting to see it again so I could look for clues that I might have missed, that's the sign of a good movie in my opinion. I find it hard to believe so few people have seen this little gem, as I had a hard time even finding reviews for it. Oh.. and that guy from Hero's, Adrian Pasdar, fantastic in this! I never cared for the guy when watching Hero's but in this movie he showed he really has some acting skills, I lost myself in his acting he was THAT good.

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.

A couple of naive, enthusiastic parents gradually admit there's something creepy about their twin children, so they try to fix the problem through their opposing beliefs. Will it go the way they hope?

Interesting found footage horror. All the acting is fine - the tension between the parents probably should have come earlier and more subtly - camera not too shaky, and the pace is good. We have the usual woodland isolation, camera lights peering through the dark, ordinary people going off in a huff, and the startling discovery of scary things. But it's not The Blair Witch Project.

The extra strength is that it raises issues of faith and science, and the question whether one is more effective than the other, but without giving an answer. Also there's a clever switch of the point of view in the climax. The weakness is the film-makers shied away from delivering real frights, every time just fading out or not carrying through. Which is a pity. And full throated screaming is always effective in this genre, but too restrained this time.

Overall, not enough scares to make it more than interesting, but I'm sure this would make a great full-production horror.