THE HOME Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: James De Monaco
Stars: Pete Davidson, Bruce Altman, John Glover, Mary Beth Peil, Jagger Nelson, Matthew Miniero, Victor William, Hessica Hecht, Adam Cantor, Mugga, Beth Dixon, Denise Burse, Ethan Phillips, Stuart Rudin, Nathalie Schmidt, Marilee Talkington.
There is something inherently creepy about horror films set within institutions or nursing homes. Recently we had the creepy and bizarre psychological drama The Rule Of Jenny Penn, which was set in a nursing home and dealt with the battle of wits and wills between Geoffrey Rush’s wheelchair bound judge and John Lithgow’s psychopathic inmate who terrorised many of the other elderly patients with his handheld doll. Now we get The Home, another creepy, disturbing, unsettling and bonkers psychological horror film set inside the Green Meadows nursing home.
Max (comedian Pete Davidson, from films including Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, etc) is a stoner and troubled graffiti artist whose life has spiralled out of control since his older stepbrother Luke committed suicide a few years earlier. In trouble with the authorities Max is offered a deal in which he can serve out his four month probation period by working as a maintenance man at the Green Meadows nursing home in upstate New York. The staff appear quite friendly and supportive, and the residents seem happy. The doctor in charge of the institution is Dr Sabian (Bruce Altman, from Fifty Shades Darker, etc) seems kindly enough, but he has been involved in some controversial and cutting-edge treatments aimed at slowing down the aging process.
Max befriends a couple of the residents, including Lou (John Glover, from Payback, etc), who runs acting classes to keep the residents active, and Norma (Mary Beth Peil, from tv series Dawson’s Creek, etc), sweet older lady who seems to take a maternal interest in Max.
Max is told that he is not to venture onto the fourth floor of the institution which is off limits to the residents. Max though is driven by curiosity to check out the fourth floor and sneaks onto the floor, picking the locks. There he finds some elderly patients confined to beds or wheelchairs and attached to intravenous drips.
But soon afterwards Max begins to experience some nightmares and believes he is being watched. He experiences a growing sense of paranoia. Norma gives Max a subtle warning about Green Meadows, suggesting he should leave, before she jumps from a window and is impaled on an iron fence.
The Home is the latest film from writer/director James De Monaco, who is best known for creating the Purge horror franchise, and he throws a lot of ideas at the screen. The film taps into an 80s aesthetic and infuses the material with a creepy, ominous tone, but it also seems to grow more ludicrous as it progresses. It ends in an over-the-top bloodbath and gore. De Monaco includes some gross out moments, some gory body horror accomplished with some grisly special effects and prosthetics, and a couple of nicely times jump scares. But there are a few scenes involving injections into eyeballs that had me wincing and looking away from the screen.
The film was shot on location in the closed senior living facility the Saint Francis Residential Community which doubles for the titular home which lends an air of authenticity to the setting. Cinematographer Anastas N Michos (The Empty Man, etc) uses handheld cameras and closeups and subdued lighting to heighten the unsettling atmosphere.
Davidson is largely cast against type here, but he brings a goofy charm and comedic touches to his performance but he does seem uncomfortable at times. Altman makes for a suave but somehow subtly sinister doctor. Many of the cast bring energy to their performances.
★★☆
