There is something really wrong with the Poe children (real life siblings AMBER JOY and AUSTIN WILLIAMS): they don't talk much, they show cruelty towards small animals, and they are getting sent home from school for biting people. Father (NEAR DARK's ADRIAN PASDAR) thinks religion is the answer while mom (CADY McCLAIN) votes for psychotherapy. Meanwhile, as matters escalate it's clear to the audience that both parents regardless of their beliefs, really worship at the altar of denial.
HOME MOVIE is one of those found footage films like THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, CLOVERFIELD and [REC] that places the viewer smack dab in the action thanks to the notion that some people like filming things more than they like staying alive. It is fascinating in places, frustrating in others and I think one's enjoyment of it will probably be determined by how tightly they cling to the whole "this is reality" thing.
Personally I'm torn, I love this film's cryptic foreshadowing and its refusal to identify the origin of the evil involved, and yet parts of it feel like a cheat. For example, the parents seem incapable of retaining any knowledge of previous insurrections on the part of their children. If your kids killed the goldfish, moved on to frogs and then graduated to crucifying the cat, wouldn't it be logical to keep them away from the family dog? On the other hand, this may be the only movie I'll ever get to see that features ADRIAN PASDAR in a pink bunny suit, so like I said…torn like NATALLIE IMBRUGLIA.
I think there is a strong story here that deserves better than having to slavishly touch base with the whole "fake reality" trope at regular intervals. Those who enjoy pointing out puppet strings can have a field day ripping apart the incongruities that abound. Better time is spent perhaps appreciating the legitimate creep factor and the subtle psychological game play, which is ultimately a great deal more interesting. I have to say as much as I didn't buy the film's central conceit; there are certainly scenes that really work fantastically at getting into your brain and staying there like a bad jingle (or an ice cream truck tune).
HOME MOVIE is effective enough to stand out from the crowd, but for maximum enjoyment it might be a good idea to take a leap of faith in regard to its fuzzy logic. It may not be able to convince you that it is "real," but I wouldn't be surprised if it was persuasive enough to have some parents out there locking their bedroom doors at night anyway.
I own Home Movie. I was stumbling around Best Buy about 2 months ago looking for something new to watch. Everything looked boring and I'd seen all the horror (that looked any good) that Best Buy had to offer, so when I saw "Home Movie" and looked over the DVD, I bought it immidiately. I was hoping for a bit more on screen violence, but I still liked the movie. However, yeah, when the kid first kills the goldfish I was thinking to myself "Why don't they keep these brats away from the other animals?" Also, when the mother is telling the children how many pills to take a day and the side effects for overdose I was a little disappointed because 10 year olds generally aren't in charge of their medication regime, let alone one's displaying symptoms of "conduct disorder"- part of conduct disorder is disobedience. Seriously, after they bite Christian in school, I thought they'd be hospitalized or at least interviewed by someone other than the mother. But all in all, a good movie. 7 out of 10 stars.
Neither this review or the above reader comment has sold me on Home Movie. But I was moved sufficiently by the reference to an Australian pop singer/soap opera actor to comment…
Nathan Petrelli in a bunny suit?! BEST PHOTO EVER. XD
I read the review and had to find this flick online somewhere.. I succeeded, watched it, and well.. It wasn't that bad.. The idea was intriguing.. The idea that both science and religion can be counter productive when pushed to extremes .. There was emotion, there was ego.. Basically two parents who couldn't detach themselves enough from their children to see what was going on right in front of them.. There was a scene that alluded to the children having a history of bizarre behavior, and that being a possible motivation for moving out to the country.. it's subtle so it's easy to miss.. (the getting ready to go out on new years scene) .. The ending was kind of unbelievable for me, but taking into consideration some of the news stories I've read about kids who kill people, maybe it isn't so incredible..  If you dont' expect too much from the film, you might not be disappointed..Â
Oh .. one more thing.. the funny voices and fart jokes that Adrian Pasdar relies on throughout the movie were the only thing about it that almost made me shut it off..Â
I liked it OK. Not the strongest example of the genre in terms of whether or not it's believable that they would still be filming…[REC] wins that hands down by the way. But creepy kids are awesome and these two are creepy for sure. I also liked the potentially supernatural aspects too. I mean, if my kids were that freaking weird for all of their lives I wouldn't have been as surprised as these people were, so was it the house? The kids? The ice cream man? Definitely a fun way to spend 80 minutes.
Lol LaDracul I saw the same thing, Hahahaha Nathan Bunny Petrelli, this is his 2'nd super power : pp
Btw. I love to see actors from tv series in some movies, because I identify it with tv serie's charakter and i'm looking how they play in another movie.