You can tell we are getting close to Halloween season with the release of some very gruesome DVD’s including Bloody Homecoming. A typical film for the horror genre, this quick story has all the elements common to films like Carrie, Prom Night and other popular flicks that elicit chills from the anticipation of guessing who’s next to die and how.
The movie opens with a mixed gender group of eight high school freshmen led by Billy arriving at a homecoming dance at Winston High. When they get to the door of the gym they get turned away by seniors who tell them that they decided not to allow underclassmen into the homecoming dance. Billy tells his friends there’s no problem and leads them off to the drama department where he has planned a night of drinking and sex.
When his girlfriend Anne rebukes having sex with Billy in a drama closet he attempts to rape her, but her friend Lauren saves her. Lauren locks the closet and they leave Billy unconscious on the floor. A fire starts and Billy gets burned alive. Flash forward three years later and Winston High has re-instituted the Homecoming Dance that had been cancelled due to the tragedy. Now seniors Anne, Darcy, Lauren and the other friends in the original group contemplate whether they are going to attend. When the seven friends reluctantly agree, a night of terror with someone hell bent on getting revenge makes the high school halls run with blood.
The acting in this sub par script isn’t half bad at least allowing for some interesting terror that entertains. Like most horror flicks there’s going to be a lot of blood, a few twists on how deaths will occur, some cheap thrills and of course a beheading or two. Director Brian C. Weed keeps his film suspenseful by adding possible suspects as the deranged killer. He begins his film with a night of terror and doesn’t get hung up in a lot of character build up before his night of bloody savagery takes place.
There’s nothing boring about this film, although it does have that low budget feel. Most of the kills are predictable and you can see them coming far before the actual diabolical act. Although it may be a problem in another genre, but for horror fans it’s just another time to cozy up to your boyfriend and squeeze his arm till he yells with you. The film is best seen however on a night with the wind howling, rain blowing against the house and a loose shutter banging ever so often.
The visual properties are very good, especially since the film fills the whole 16×9 HD screen. The night and indoor scenes are projected very good using some very good lighting techniques. The movie comes in clear and clean on HD TV’s.
The sound and especially sound effects are delivered very nicely to HD televisions using the speakers or upgraded sound bars. The surround even kicks in during the most of the scary moments and the audio guy recoded some very chilling killing scenes. I could easily understand the dialogue and the creepy music that I feel is pretty impressive.
Bloody Homecoming has not been rated but contains language, sex, nudity, bloody gore, teen cigarette smoking, teen drinking and a scene of attempted rape. You know all the stuff that entices the young curiosity seekers that attend this kind of genre film. Be cautious not to let the DVD get in the hands of immature children as it does get very graphic at times with inappropriate content.
Specifications and additional film information:
Cast: Jesse Ferraro, Grainne McDermott, Jim Tavaré, Rae Latt and Lexi Giovagnoli
Directed by: Brian C. Weed
MPAA Rating: Unrated
Genre: Horror, Suspense
Running Time: 1 hr 25 min
Video Release Date: September 24, 2013
Language: English
Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen 16×9, 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio
Subtitles: none
Number of Discs: 1 disc
Distributed by: RLJ Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
