Of all the movies I’ve covered this past week, Housebound has the highest ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and is the star child of horror comedy. If you haven’t heard of it then that’s fine. I never heard of it either until I happened upon it on Netflix some years back. And I’m so glad that I did!
This movie flew completely under the radar largely due to the fact that it made its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival in 2014 and only showed at select theaters. Unnoticed to the masses, yes, and yet the movie went on to rake in awards and nominations from a variety of organizations around the world.
Kylie is a delinquent sentenced to house arrest at her childhood home with a mother she can’t stand and a stepfather who never talks. Right off the bat, the movie takes on a tone of both seriousness and humor when Kylie tries to break into an ATM. She ends up having to drag her unconscious friend across the parking lot when her plot fails miserably. The movie is dark visually and washed with yellow and green undertones as one might expect from a horror film, yet the humor in the scene is quite the surprise. I found myself laughing with confusion as I was unsure if the movie was intentionally trying to be funny.
It only gets better from there on out when the ghost inhabiting her childhood home tries to warn her of an impending danger. This movie holds a twist that I’ve only seen being pulled off successfully in a Supernatural episode believe it or not. No spoilers, but the twist is pretty great, and the humor only increases at the movie’s terrifying climax. It’s a scream in both a shocking way and a hilarious way.
Humor aside, the story was brilliantly pulled by lead actress Morgana O’Reilly as she did an A+ job at portraying a genuinely shitty and beautifully sassy human being. Her bratty relationship with her mother and her awkward encounters with her father make both her and the supporting cast very believable. The step father is a gruff, silent man as many step fathers tend to be with children, and the mother is a ditsy, loud mouthed gossip that will have you cringing as though she were your own mom!
It’s zany, unique, and hilarious while still being able to keep that feeling of horror as Kylie goes rooting through the past of her house and is forced to interact with the ghostly happenings that keep haunting her.
I’d love to say more, but I’m sure there are many of you that haven’t seen it so I suggest you just go watch it!! Just drop what you’re doing and go watch it right now!