Mixing horror and a long unsolved murder mystery with clever touches of comedy throughout, the 2014 New Zealand film Housebound, written and directed by Gerard Johnstone, is a twisty tale that constantly keeps you guessing.
Playing with his audience, Johnstone provides little teases and possible red herrings as we go along: a mother, Miriam (Rima Te Wiata), phoning into a late night program telling of her run in with a ghost in her own home, a rough around the edges hoarder of a neighbour whose pastime just happens to be skinning animals, a murder that took place in the house the story is set in, an orthodontic retainer that may be a clue to who committed said murder, an agoraphobic neighbour who disappeared years ago, bizarre power outages, a missing cellphone, a creepy toy bear that keeps reappearing, as well as a supposedly haunted basement – all play their part in building the tense, suspenseful atmosphere.
The protagonist is a pissy twenty-something, Kylie (Morgana O’Reilly), a troubled individual who gets caught pulling a robbery with a dim-witted dude. Given her umpteenth chance, she is graciously sentenced to eight months house arrest, placing her back in the home she has tried so hard to escape from. Her mother, Miriam, is a Chatty Cathy, an oblivious, flighty lady who would constantly have rose coloured glasses on if it weren’t for her daughter being home. Living in an abode that straddles the line between cutesy and creepy, she is no longer with Kylie’s father, now married to the rather quiet and staid Graeme (Ross Harper).
Under the watch of a constantly lurking security contractor (he monitors her ankle bracelet) and paranormal enthusiast, Amos (Glen-Paul Waru), she must also meet regularly with a meddlesome therapist, Dennis (Cameron Rhodes). After getting annoyed that her mother made the call to a late night radio show suggesting that she saw a ghost in the basement many years ago, Kylie too has a rather intense experience in the same creepy, dust-filled location.
Slowly unravelling the mystery, with Amos’ help, she learns the secret of her home – that it was not a bed and breakfast, but actually a church operated half-way house that closed after a grisly murder took place. Knowing not what the walls of the old home hide, she attempts to piece the clues together, looking to help the victim from so many years earlier. Will Kylie be able to discover the secrets before it is too late?
Cleverly concocted, this is the type of horror movie in which you should expect the unexpected. Filled with plot twists that are not at first anticipated, Johnstone has a field day tinkering with multiple genres. Kylie’s sentence is a clever way to provide a claustrophobic setting as we know the small leash she has been given. Though there are a rotating door of secondary players, we usually find her in the house alone, sometimes with her lackadaisical mother. The other main player really is the house, filled with creaking doors, covered statues (in the basement – one that causes a Naked Gun-like pun), secret passages and a gruesome past that should give pause to those looking to buy an old home to fix up.
Though so far this may sound more like a straight horror flick, humour is laced throughout. Both witty and situational, much of the comedy comes from Wiata’s Miriam, who at times can be reminiscent of a Nick Frost character (i.e. Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz). An example: after her daughter has been fitted with the technologically advanced, tamper proof ankle bracelet, and filled in on all of its criminally unfriendly features, she daftly exclaims, “gosh, that’s high-tech, isn’t it? Aren’t you lucky, Kylie. Having all that fancy technology on your foot. Quite spoilt.” Actually, this motion picture has a bit of a similar vibe to the two aforementioned Nick Frost and Simon Pegg features.
Also editing the movie, Johnstone plays with typical horror conventions. He sometimes holds shots for extended periods, often to great effect. Seen as Kylie goes out for a cigarette, an inordinate amount of smoke seems to suddenly appear. Looking over, her also smoking neighbour is burning something and stares back ominously. . . she returns the glare. Johnstone draws things out, highlighting both the girl’s headstrong attitude as well as the lunacy of the situation (that is, if it were an ordinary, non horror filled day, it would be no big deal).
Without giving too much away about either past or present in the story, there is a murder which has been mentioned. A scene finds a pair; one murderer, the other unaware helper, attempting to penetrate a hidden door. Stating that he needs something to pry it open, he turns to find the other holding a knife in killing fashion. Oblivious to the situation, he takes it from the hand, thinking it is an offering as a tool for the job. It is in this clever fashion that the movie satirizes its own genre, still able to string the viewer along in nervous fascination, a never-wavering roller-coaster ride, despite the varying notes of comedy.
A surefooted first effort from a first time filmmaker, Housebound is another enjoyable romp into the horror comedy sub-genre. . . aided by nicely rounded performances from the entire cast. Building off of haunted house movies like The Changeling, The Amityville Horror and so many others, the flourishes of hilarity play nicely with the spooks. Following in the wake of the Evil Dead franchise, Shaun of the Dead, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil and many others, it adds its own worthy chapter in this field. So, don’t feel like horror and comedy are two separate entities, there is no fork in the road here, check this flick out – it will blow your mind.