Housebound

This movie, has given me a new appreciation of the New Zealand movie industry. What a surprise!... and a worthy one at that. This was hilarious! The director/writers/actors/editors were brilliant. Some of the scenes left you laughing out loud and were so cleverly thought out. It not your usually 'horror' theme, with the usual gore, so if you expect that, then move on. The main character and her mother really make the movie, and as I wrote earlier, this movie opened my eyes up to the New Zealand movie trade. I'm not going to spoil you with what it about, so the best way to watch this movie is to not know much at all, and you will be pleasantly surprised. This movie, has been one I recommend for others to see, as its entertaining, funny, and you won't just get a smirk on your face but a good laugh out loud experience. Well done New Zealand.

This is not an unheard of movie, but I stopped believe it to be fully underrated. Funny relatable characters, wonderful cinematography, and even though the film claims to be low budget it really doesn't feel like it. The story centers around Kylie, a self-centered miscreant who has to return to her childhood home on house arrest. Kylie is very dislikeable at first, being a bully to her step-dad, her dim-witted and somewhat racist mother, well meaning social workers, and pretty much everyone who has the misfortune of meeting her. As her house arrest continues strange things begin happening that cause Kylie to wonder if her mum and step-dad are the only other inhabitants of the home. No spoilers here so go watch to find out how Kylie copes with being Housebound.

'Housebound' is a very well crafted movie, mostly because it perfectly balances suspense/horror with comedic tones that laugh in the face of classic horror moments. But even with all those great comedy bits, there are quite a few creepy moments in the movie that gets your heart pounding. The story on the other hand is quite original, I won't give too much away, but it plays out like a ghost story with the main character trapped inside the house, because of a house arrest warrant. The movie is full of surprises and comical elements that keeps the somewhat darker story light at heart. Having the main character on house arrest is a nice touch that forces her to stay inside the house even though there is something sinister going on inside those walls. 'Housebound' plays out with some typical horror elements, but the main character refuses to follow suit and every time something 'unusual' happens, she tackles those situations more level headed than most horror movie characters, which creates some great humor. As I said above, I loved how the movie easily transitioned between being quite comical to some very solid scares, it also has a very strong creep factor as well! I was not expecting a whole lot going into this movie so it turned out to be quite a surprise, even though the movie certainly would have been better had it trimmed it's runtime down! And as for a warning, if you for some odd reason you struggle through the first 1/2 of the movie, just know that the 3rd act is where all the excitement and mayhem lives! This movie is along the likes of Tucker & Dale vs Evil, and although it is definitely a darker movie, it features a lot more (and welcomed) surprises!

Full Review at : www.simplefilmreviews.com

What a GREAT film. It's Kiwi to the bone, no Hollywood glitz here just an entertaining film. To make a film like this on shoe string budget is a truly fantastic achievement. Anyone who was involved in putting this together, go ahead and give yourselves a big pat on the back.

Delinquent serial-offender Kylie is sentenced to nine month's house arrest at her family home in a small town on New Zealand's Twin Coast Highway, forcing her to move back in after many years with her slightly loopy mother, who we learn has long been convinced that the house is haunted. Initially more than a little sceptical, Kylie soon begins to experience unexplained phenomena herself, and before long local security contractor/probation officer Amos (who is principally responsible for ensuring Kylie doesn't leave the premises) offers his services as an amateur paranormal investigator.

Part ghost story, part murder mystery, it would be counter- productive to know any more about the plot before viewing, as various revelations and red herrings keep the mystery quotient high. There are also underlying themes relating to family and loss that lend the film a welcome human dimension.

One slight negative is that the many twists and turns stretch out the runtime beyond the ideal for this sort of film, and there are times when it starts to drag. Also one particular character is presented in a manner that pushes the film firmly into farce territory; one of a couple of aspects that could have been executed slightly more believably, as absurd as that sounds in relation to a film of this type.

The performances are all top notch; Morgana O'Reilly has great fun with Kylie's mardy persona, Glen-Paul Waru is perfect as likable doofus Amos and Rima Te Wiata excels as Kylie's dotty but ultimately caring mother. Refreshingly, the main characters all develop convincingly over the course of the film, which is far from a given when it comes to horrors, comedies and indeed horror-comedies. You'd have to be pretty hard-hearted not to care about them by the end.

Horror-comedies are difficult to pull off, and it's rare that a film strikes a genuine balance without ending up as a full-on horror with a darkly comic edge, or an out-and-out comedy with horror themes, but Housebound gets very close to doing so. At time it leans more towards comedy and farce, and the tone is often light-hearted, but there are enough moments of tension – and violence – to ensure that there are plenty of thrills among the laughs.