Home Sweet Home (2013)
Directed by: David Morlet
Written by: David Morlet
Starring: Marty Adams, Meghan Heffern, Shaun Benson
HOME SWEET HOME (2013)
Directed and written by David Morlet
Screened at Grimmfest 2013
Sara (Meghan Heffern) and Frank (Adam MacDonald) McAndrews are like any other suburban couple. With their son staying over at grandma’s house, the pair return home from a night out, keen to keep the passion flowing. Unbeknownst to them, they are not alone…
HOME SWEET HOME is the latest in the string of home invasion movies, and right from the offset we are made aware that there is a methodical creep lurking inside the house. The film opens with the intruder breaking into the home with ease, already aware of the security systems in the home. He sets about nailing shut the windows and tampering with the home to ensure that once his victims are inside, they’ve got nowhere to escape to. After placing his holdall in the closet, the viewer gets their first glimpse of the intruder, as he puts on his disposable white overall. Though we never see his full face, we can tell he’s a tall, solidly-built man with slicked-back hair as he puts on a creepy-looking mask.
As Sara and Frank return home, the intruder hides upstairs, and it is then we, the viewer, get to know the couple. They seem in love and relishing a night of passion, with Sara teasing her horny husband before slipping upstairs to choose the perfect fantasy outfit to please him. As she slinks into the shower, Frank is downstairs unwinding, listening to some music and practicing his golfing skills. Walking around the room with a whiskey in hand, it isn’t long before he notices something strange at the window frame. It is at this point the intruder makes himself known with brutal fury.
The film has been likened to John Carpenter’s Halloween and I can see what they mean, with the killer’s taking his time to attack in his own way. A large segment during the middle of the film sees the intruder play cat and mouse with Sara, giving her the illusion that he has disappeared or simply left her alone. At one particular moment during the film, Sara is hiding inside a bathroom as the intruder casually throws Sara’s son’s basketball into the hoop on the bedroom door. The repetive noise from the hoops digs away into the mind of Sara and the viewer, with the mental torture equally as painful as Sara’s delayed physical suffering.
Whilst in many ways HOME SWEET HOME doesn’t bring anything new to the table, it’s a solid home invasion thriller with its own set of twists and pay offs which will please horror or slasher fans. A convincing, strong performance from the leads, Meghan Heffern, Adam MacDonald and Shaun Benson, as the silent killer, ensure the film can retain the audience during its more ‘reflective’ moments.
The amount of times that blood is spilled during the movie are few and far between, but when it happens, you’ll be more than impressed and repelled at the execution.
Cunning, unwavering and downright organised, the killer in HOME SWEET HOME puts other slashers to shame!
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