A twenty-something woman finds herself under house arrest in her childhood
home, which now appears to be haunted.
Review by
Benjamin Poole
Directed by: Gerard Johnstone
Starring: Morgana O'Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Ross
Harper
Before they can open up the shadowy corners and hallowed foundations of
their spooky settings, every haunted house movie must first contend with the
same logistical problem, namely, how to contrive to ensure its protagonists
stay put within the troubled walls of their haunted homes, rather than
nipping off to the relative safety of the nearest Travelodge? The Overlook
was snowed in, poor Carol Ann was literally trapped in the telly in
Poltergeist, and, correspondingly, in New Zealand horror Housebound we
have a similarly convincing premise: ne'er do well lead Kylie (Morgana O'Reilly
- full of pout, and even fuller of attitude) is placed under eight month
house arrest following her bumbling attempt at doing over a cash machine. If
Kylie ventures further than the front yard, then eager neighbourhood cop
Amos (Glen-Paul Waru) is alerted, and it's Cell Block H for her.
Kylie is in her mid-twenties, so moving back in with her mum (who she refers
to, in the film's characteristically blunt vernacular, as "a fucking idiot")
isn't the most appealing of prospects, but, even worse than having to watch
Coronation Street every Tuesday and Thursday are the strange
happenings within Kylie's childhood abode: the weird noises, the electricity
short outs… the hand that grabs her from the basement!
Everything about Housebound's efficient, slick suspense and
quirky characterisation feels so fresh and urgent, and makes it easy to see
why it was such a festival favourite. This is horror that both thrills and
chills, offering crowd pleasing scares as Kylie negotiates the strange
environs and even weirder backstory of the house, but also an off kilter,
Antipodean whimsy to the proceedings as well. These shifts in texture and
tone work well on the smaller screen too: this is a very funny horror film
(the humour reminded me of Summer Heights High's rough wit -
high praise). Kylie's poor old mum (telly veteran Rima Te Wiata) is a
scream, weeping when she's denied her soap fix and clumsily rear-ending the
cop car that delivers Kylie ("there's more damage to mine than there is to
yours…"). The relationship between the two women gives
Housebound its comedic edge - despite being a twenty-something
woman, Kylie reverts to teenage sulks and adolescent outbursts at home - but
also accords Housebound its heart.
Housebound must retrieve every cliché from the haunted attic,
but, here's the crucial difference between this film and, say,
the Poltergeist remake: Housebound dusts these tropes off and presents them as
brand shining new; lingering shots of bathroom mirrors where we expect
ghouls to pop up remain empty, radio static that could whisper supernatural
secrets ultimately don't…. At the start of the movie, a television pop
psychologist talks about confirmation bias, the idea that we (and perhaps
disturbed Kylie) see what we expect to, and the film certainly plays with
our low-expectations of recent horror, but only in order to confound them;
and consequently we're coloured intrigued as to the true (super?) nature of
proceedings. One particularly neat scene sees Kylie on the loo, as she, um,
micturates, and her tension at the random muffled whispers and bangs of the
house is communicated by the sound of her urine hitting the bowl; halting,
then releasing, then halting again; creating suspense in a manner that is
both amusing and inspired.
Such a scene as the one above is characteristic of this off-kilter and
sensational film. Usually, the caveat for a movie of such idiosyncrasy would
begin, "It’s not for everyone, but…" However, it is impossible to imagine
anyone not getting something from this gem (I saw an online screener, but
can't wait to buy the blu-ray. Several in fact, one for all of my most
favourite people). Often hilarious, frequently proper scary, and tense and
suspenseful throughout, like Kylie locked in to the environs of her haunted
house, we too are gripped by the tense excitements of
Housebound, a film that's right up your street.
Housebound is on UK/ROI VOD from
October 2nd.