AKA ‘At the Devil’s Door’ which is by far the better title, Home is written and directed by Nicholas McCarthy, the man who gave us the still underseen The Pact (another film with issues with the title).
A solid first few scenes create a pair of motivated property sellers. They should also teach us that if you play games of chance with creepy guys in scungy caravans, you kinda deserve what you get…
Leigh is the real estate agent tasked with selling the place. She asks about the burn marks on the walls and ceilings. She asks about what will become of the furniture that remains in one room. She asks about the young girl with the bright red raincoat and Reeboks. She is told “Please just sell the house. Soon.”
Leigh might be a spunky young go-getter happy to work long hours, but she isn’t too sensible. But the house seems a plasterboard honey-pot. Leigh decides a home inspection is in order. Alone. At night. Later, her sister Vera is drawn in, drawn by a perplexing voice message. She too sees the red coated, red booted girl.
The film is all shadows, silence and reflection, with more of a reliance on BOO moments, loud musical stabs and vivid imagery than The Pact films. Despite a flat ending though (which if it was a twist it was a poor one), I found the film worked for me – even though the scares don’t really work.
What does work and is far more evident is the effort. There are few jokes (actually none). In fact instead of screaming ‘don’t go in there!’ you want to say ‘lighten up for a second!’, but the solemnity of tone and deliberate build of tension permits you to remain invested in the cast even as they deliver some frankly hokey lines.
Nicholas McCarthy is now two for two as far as I am concerned, although he is yet to create something even nearing Greatness. But with what he has achieved so far with small budgets and limited ideas, I have hope that something bigger is in his future.
Something with a title that makes more sense than Home or The Pact…
Final Rating – 7 / 10. Hopefully there isn’t a Neil Marshall finish to all this build up…
