Housebound
DIRECTOR: Gerard Johnstone, WRITTEN BY: Gerard Johnstone, STARRING: Morgana O’ Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, RUN TIME: 107 minutes, RELEASE: 2014
Kylie Bucknell (Morgana O'Reilly) is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. Her punishment is made all the more unbearable by the fact she has to live there with her mother Miriam (Rima Te Wiata) - a well-intentioned blabbermouth who's convinced that the house is haunted. Kylie dismisses Miriam's superstitions as nothing more than a distraction from a life occupied by boiled vegetables & small-town gossip. However, when she too becomes privy to unsettling whispers & strange bumps in the night, she begins to wonder whether she's inherited her overactive imagination, or if the house is in fact possessed by a hostile spirit who's less than happy about the new living arrangement.
I never really know what to expect when going into a film labelled 'comedy/horror'. After all, these are my two least favourite genres. That being said I recently enjoyed two great comedy films: 'Psycho Beach Party' (2000) and 'Bubba Ho-Tep' (2002) so, I must admit, my opinion is slowly changing. Although, the horror elements in both of these films is pretty tame. When I first saw the trailer for 'Housebound' I was pretty excited about it and a strong recommendation from a friend sealed the deal. So, in I went and yet again I found myself well satisfied.
'Housebound' is a fairly simple enough story: A young troubled woman is forced to return to her childhood home to serves an 8-month sentence under house arrest for attempting to rip off a cash machine. The relationship with her mother is frosty at best which only adds to the awkwardness of the situation and on top of that, there appears to be an otherworldly presence haunting her mothers home. First, the location of the film is nothing that I haven't seen before: A large ominous looking house surrounded by a profusion of trees is pretty standard for this genre of film. But, that for me is neither here nor there.
What surprised me is the level of comedy. From the trailer, 'Housebound' looks fairly comedy heavy but, I was actually surprised with how subtle it really is. There isn't as much as the trailer would suggest and that is in no way a complaint. I think the balance of comedy and horror is very well done. Gerard Johnstone delicately plays with the humour, mostly opting for gentle tongue-in-cheek methods, which really does come off as very funny indeed. There are also brief moments of silliness that work so well, it really is written brilliantly.
As well as being a comedy/horror, 'Housebound' has a wonderful air of suspense about it, with obvious elements of murder-mystery. Surprisingly, it kept me guessing for a large percentage of it as to where it was headed, which makes a pleasant change from the usual predictable rubbish that we are so often assaulted with. It's nice not to see the end coming soon after the film has started. The script is quite fantastic and engaging with some truly well-developed characters. There are some aspects of the film that are pretty weak in their originality but, none of this really matters or takes away from the greatness of its overall appeal. It has it's standard creepy moments and throws in a couple of basic scare/jump tactics, which usually I'm not big on as I pretty much always see them coming. However, since they succeeded this time in making my heart shift up a couple of gears, I will concede that they are well-placed and effective. This time.
The casting is superb and O'Reilly is strong in the lead role of Kylie. She completely owns her characters jaded and dismissive attitude with absolute quality. 'Housebound' also boasts a wonderful supporting cast from the like of Rima Te Wiata, who is just perfect as Kylie's kooky mother. Every word that comes out of her mouth and everything she does is brilliantly comical. Glen-Paul Waru also puts in a marvelous turn as Kylie's parole officer/amateur paranormal investigator, Amos.
Overall, 'Housebound' is a excellent little film with an inspired balance of comedy, horror, suspense and mystery that easily excelled my expectations. The direction and editing is pretty damn great and the spectacular cast do its nicely written script justice. What I thought was going to be a slightly over-the-top farce actually turned out to be a very well put together mystery with lots of pleasant surprises. Give this little gem a go. You won't be disappointed.