Synopsis: (from IMDb) In the remote woods of upstate New York, the Poe family lives a Norman Rockwell life. Perfect house. Perfect marriage. If only the children stopped stapling frogs to trees. Something is very wrong with Jack and Emily Poe, the ten-year old twins. And, to stop them, their parents must enter the nightmare of their minds.
My Quick Review: Home Movie has a very strong concept at its center: what would you do if your kids started to act as little serial killers. Are they possessed? Or just plain crazy? How do you help them? Can you?
Home Movie uses found footage to tell its story, but this is the case where using POV does not really add anything to the film. On the contrary it would have been better served, in my opinion, using a traditional way of shooting.
If Home Movie had been made today, it would probably be another production such as Indisious or Sinister. And believe it or not, I think it would have been better for it.
There are a couple of creepy scenes and the acting (even from the kids) is top notch but I was always expecting more. If you use found footage you should really make the most of it. Maybe the filmmakers did not want to show too much on-camera stuff because kids were involved, but in that case make a traditional film,add a score, play with some camera angles, create a really disturbing atmosphere.
I can’t really say Home Movie is a bad movie because it’s not. On the other hand, it’s a bit too safe for my taste and could have been one of the most disturbing movie of recent years had the filmmakers gone all the way.
My Rating: 5.5/10
Year: 2008
Origin: US
Director: Christopher Denham
