Housebound is movie 17 of the 31 horror films I plan on watching this month. This film was recommended to me by one of my students and I’m glad I listened. I went in knowing nothing of the story other than the IMDb synopsis. In writing my review, I’m going to try and keep it spoiler free so you can watch this film on Netflix and enjoy it. I give Housebound the Must See rating.
Housebound is a fantastic horror comedy
Kylie Bucknell (Morgana O’Reilly) is forced to return to her childhood home after trying to steal the money out of an ATM. She’s placed on house arrest for eight months, but her childhood home holds many secrets. After some odd occurrences, Kylie begins to believe that something evil may be lurking in the house.
I’m starting to think I am a sucker for New Zealand films. I loved Hunt for the Wilderpeople and now this one won me over. Both films feature Rima Te Wiata, who plays a great mother character. She is sympathetic and endearing in both films. In both films, she loves a child who is known for their rebellious ways. This film has a completely different tone though.
Director and writer Gerard Johnstone really connected to my interest level. There were several moments when I was genuinely terrified. Well, at least really scared and anxious about what was going to happen. I did jump a few times though, but I would find myself laughing moments later. This film was watched by myself, but my wife kept hearing me laugh from the other room. His ability to establish and carry both the horror tone and the comedic tone is impressive. His use of lighting and framing really work for both.
Kylie and Amos have quite a bit of chemistry
I have to give a lot of credit to Morgana O’Reilly and Glen-Paul Waru. I became immensely attached to both of these characters. Glen-Paul Waru plays Amos who works for the security company monitoring Kylie’s ankle bracelet. He brings so many great moments into this film that made me laugh. The two attempt to figure out what is going on in her parent’s house. It’s a fun mystery and reminds me of some older films.
If you’re into horror comedies than I think you’ll love this one. It’s a film I will likely show as many people as I can. It’s got a great cast and a fun mystery based story. Housebound brings the scares and equally brings the laughs. It’s not easy to establish and maintain two tones like this and demonstrates Johnstone’s abilities as a writer and director. I hope he has more in him because I’ll definitely give it a watch.
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