This modestly produced film hails from New Zealand, and thus evidently there's a quote on the DVD-cover from the most famous Kiwi director in history - Peter Jackson - exclaiming it's a bloody fantastic movie. Cheap marketing trick, but hey, for once it's not a lie! "Housebound" is an unexpected but pleasantly surprising little horror flick that feels fresh and original despite dealing with overly familiar themes.
It's listed as a combo between horror and comedy, and I usually get very skeptical when I read this. "Housebound", however, is effective in both domains because debuting writer/director Gerald Johnstone cleverly keeps both the horror and the comedy in good balance and never goes over the top. Several subtle jokes and situations in Johnstone's script are funny, but he never ridicules the genre or reverts to slapstick. Same goes for the horror, as "Housebound" features a tense atmosphere and various frightening moments - and even some gore - but it never becomes an unnecessarily complex or pretentious supernatural tale.
Troublesome teen Kylie is put under house arrest with an ankle-bracelet for 8 months after an amateurish ATM-heist gone wrong. It certainly is a punishment for her, because she hates the spooky and remote old mansion she grew up in, and she can't get along with her drama-queen of a mother. Mother Myriam testifies on radio shows that her house is haunted, and while imprisoned there, Kylie slows begins to experience she might be right! The cracking ceiling and noises coming from the basement suddenly become very disturbing when Kylie learns more about the house's past.
We've all seen this premise hundreds of times - at least, I have - but somehow "Housebound" remains innovative most of the running time. Whenever it's not innovative, it remains entertaining thanks to the comedy and the gore. It's not entirely flawless, mind you, and a bit too long for my liking, but "Housebound" is unquestionably one of the better horror movies of the 2010s.
It's listed as a combo between horror and comedy, and I usually get very skeptical when I read this. "Housebound", however, is effective in both domains because debuting writer/director Gerald Johnstone cleverly keeps both the horror and the comedy in good balance and never goes over the top. Several subtle jokes and situations in Johnstone's script are funny, but he never ridicules the genre or reverts to slapstick. Same goes for the horror, as "Housebound" features a tense atmosphere and various frightening moments - and even some gore - but it never becomes an unnecessarily complex or pretentious supernatural tale.
Troublesome teen Kylie is put under house arrest with an ankle-bracelet for 8 months after an amateurish ATM-heist gone wrong. It certainly is a punishment for her, because she hates the spooky and remote old mansion she grew up in, and she can't get along with her drama-queen of a mother. Mother Myriam testifies on radio shows that her house is haunted, and while imprisoned there, Kylie slows begins to experience she might be right! The cracking ceiling and noises coming from the basement suddenly become very disturbing when Kylie learns more about the house's past.
We've all seen this premise hundreds of times - at least, I have - but somehow "Housebound" remains innovative most of the running time. Whenever it's not innovative, it remains entertaining thanks to the comedy and the gore. It's not entirely flawless, mind you, and a bit too long for my liking, but "Housebound" is unquestionably one of the better horror movies of the 2010s.