Now here’s a horror flick on DVD that has the right mix of scary and comical elements. It’s called Housebound and its wild, wicked and a “scream”. Although the cast is not popular in the USA, they’re as talented and enjoyable to watch. Nice direction by Gerard Johnstone who keeps the thrills coming and the gory details up close and “dead” on. You don’t have to be a shock freak to enjoy it, but you may want someone close that will enjoy a few laughs with all the mayhem.
Picked-up by the police for breaking into an ATM, Kylie Bucknell (Morgana O’Reilly) gets the worst sentence she could have hoped to avoid, 8 months house arrest at her mother Miriam’s (Rima Te Wiata) house. That’s not too bad you say? Well mom not only has a touch of dementia, but is a big chatterbox and “I told you so” as well. Not taking it too well, Kylie tries to pass her days eating everything in the fridge and watching daytime TV.
One night while lounging in the living room listening to talk radio, she hears her mother talking to the show host about a ghost she saw in her cellar. Thinking she’s just off her rocker, Kylie wants to prove for herself that nothing paranormal is roaming below the floorboards so she trapes down the rickety stairs finding nothing. On the way back up however, a hand reaches out from under a desk and grabs her leg. So begins the funny, frightening story that should have you in “stitches” (and laughter too).
Kylie finds out that her old residence was nicknamed the Halfway House of Horrors. Director Gerard Johnstone keeps his film moving at a fast pace introducing characters as Kylie starts to investigate the possible reality of ghosts. In addition to her mother, there’s Graeme (Ross Harper) her stepfather who kowtows to Miriam, Kylie’s probation officer Amos (Glen-Paul Waru) who’s a full-fledged ghost chaser and Eugene (Ryan Lampp) a psycho character that finds himself in the thick of things.
Playing Kylie with all her rants and machinations Morgana O’Reilly puts on a stellar show. She’s bewildered having to go back to the place she grew up and face a mother who she despises. She left home to get away from bad memories and now has to return to the place where she was overprotected. O’Reilly’s the straight one in the bunch who has to instigate the comedy relief and she does a terrific job.
Rima Te Wiata plays Miriam the dotting mother who never understood why Kylie left home. She’s a nut case who doesn’t know when to shut up, even when it’s important to do so. The actress is a gem, getting into a very difficult character with ease. Her ability to perform her kind of comedy is shared by few including Mellissa McCarthy and Sarah Baker.
The cinematography plays a big part in the success of this thriller and it’s a winner. Working with some very creepy sets, a house that has many rooms, wall passages, a dank cellar, and some tricky exteriors the camera crew had their hands full shooting in tough lighting situations. The cellar scenes tell most of the story and catching the action in the closed quarters without missing a beat deserves a well done.
BONUS FEATURES:
There are three deleted scenes that are hilarious.
“Dinner Scene” this is very funny in a rude kind of way and shows how uncaring Kylie is of her mother.
“Peanut Butter” one of the most gross scenes in the film. If you are easily sickened, get ready to wretch.
“Stairwell Argument” this scene gives you more information as to why Kylie’s real father left her mother.
In addition you can turn on the commentary by producers Luke Sharp and Ant Timpson who team up with writer/director Gerard Johnstone and tell all about the making of Housebound while you are watching the film a second time around. This is very helpful to budding filmmakers.
Housebound has not been rated by the MPAA but contains violence, language and gore. Please watch the film before allowing teens to see the movie. The movie was filmed in New Zealand so some of the accents my throw you at first, but stick with it. And there’s always the rewind button.
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Ross Harper, Ryan Lampp, Ross Harper and Glen-Paul Waru
Director: Gerard Johnstone
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, Contains language, violence, gore
Genre: Horror, Comedy
Running Time: 1 hr 47 min
Video Release Date: November 18, 2014
Original Film Release Date: October 17, 2014
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen “Letterbox” Aspect Ratio 2.35:1
Subtitles: None
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: XLrator Media
