Housebound, 2014
Written and directed by Gerard Johnstone
Starring Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird, Ross Harper
SYNOPSIS:
Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. Her punishment is made all the more unbearable by the fact she has to live there with her mother Miriam – a well-intentioned blabbermouth who’s convinced that the house is haunted.
After a smash and grab job goes horribly wrong, wild child Kylie is forced to move back to her childhood home with her mother for eight months. It’s bad enough that the two don’t really get along, but when things start to go bump in the night there appears to be ghostly activity in this supposed haunted house.
The above description is purposefully vague as Hosebound is the sort of horror movie that you’re better off not knowing much about as you go in. It’s genre mash of ghost story horror, slasher, comedy and murder mystery that balances each one its plates expertly by first time feature director Gerard Johnstone.
While the film is marketed as a “comedy horror”, Housebound is not outright “funny” and it doesn’t act like a clown at every turn to give its audience some chuckles. The dark humour in the movie is very dry and it picks its moments perfectly to ensure maximum impact. Laughs come from the characters rather than set pieces and its the spot on delivery from the cast members that really drive them home. Particularly in the case of Rima Te Wiata who gives such a natural performance that the laughs just roll off her. She’s so chipper and likeable that she’ll either remind you of your own mother or someone else’s mum. Similarly Glen-Paul Waru is an excellent counterpart to Kylie as the wannabe Ghostbuster who can pick up huge laughs simply by saying things like, “you can’t punch etcoplasm” in as dismissive manner as possible. While everyone gets their moments to shine, it’s these two that really steal the show with Morgana O’Reilly giving the straight performance among this cast of misfits.
And while Housebound can pull out the laughs when it wants, it can also scare the hell out of its audience. It’s so rare to see a movie that balances out the comedy and horror this well, but a lot of the tense and scary moments of Housebound are incredibly effective. Johnstone doesn’t attempt to play with a formula that has worked for so many others, but he does it with great flare and creativity. He doesn’t rely on jump scares too often and can easily grab the audience in the palm of his hand with simple camera techniques and sound work. Johnstone is a director that you are going to hear more of as this is truly remarkable work.
But at its very core, Housebound isn’t a horror, it isn’t a comedy, it isn’t a slasher or anything else – it’s the story of a mother and daughter trying to get along. The relationship between the two is so wonderful and you’ll fall in love with Miriam so quickly that you’ll want Kylie to see the error her ways. Even the very quiet stepfather Graeme (a superb Ross Harper) has his role in their relationship. It’s a very well constructed subplot to the whole movie, but it really drives the actions of everyone involved.
Housebound is a brilliant film and it works on every level it attempts. When it tries to be funny, it’s hilarious and when it’s trying to scare you, it makes you jump. The cast of characters are perfectly played and the story and all of its nuances are brilliantly intriguing and well paced. Johnstone throws a lot of elements into this saucepan, but the concoction he’s created is beautifully gory, funny and scary in equal measures. While you can’t call it a masterpiece, it’s certainly a sublime first effort from the young filmmaker.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Luke Owen is the Deputy Editor of Flickering Myth and the host of the Flickering Myth Podcast. You can follow him on Twitter @LukeWritesStuff.
Originally published August 22, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
