Housebound (2014 film)

Last updated

Housebound
Housebound2014horrormovieposter.jpeg
Directed by Gerard Johnstone
Written byGerard Johnstone
Produced byLuke Sharpe
Starring
CinematographySimon Riera
Edited byGerard Johnstone
Music byMahuia Bridgman-Cooper
Production
companies
Distributed by XLrator Media
Release date
  • 10 March 2014 (2014-03-10)(SXSW)
Running time
106 minutes
CountryNew Zealand
LanguageEnglish
BudgetUS$400,000 [1]

Housebound is a 2014 New Zealand horror comedy film written, edited, and directed by Gerard Johnstone, in his feature film directorial debut. [2] The film had its world premiere on 10 March 2014, at South by Southwest and stars Morgana O'Reilly as a woman sentenced to house arrest in a potentially haunted house. [3]

Contents

Plot

Kylie Bucknell, a troubled young woman, attempts to steal the safe from an ATM but she fails to escape and is arrested. Due to her history of recidivism, she is sentenced to house arrest for eight months under the care of her mother, Miriam. Kylie does not get along with either her mother or her step-father, Graeme. A security contractor, Amos, explains that Kylie's ankle monitor will alert the police if she ever leaves the premises of her mother's house.

Kylie is further frustrated when Miriam claims the house is haunted. After a disembodied hand grabs her in the basement, Kylie becomes convinced that an intruder is in the house. Amos takes Miriam's suggestion of a haunting seriously, and promises to return with ghost hunting equipment. After a series of unexplained experiences, Kylie comes to believe there may truly be a ghost in the house. Dennis, Kylie's clinical psychologist, becomes concerned with what he believes to be delusions in Miriam and Kylie. Graeme reveals that their home was once a halfway house and the site of a horrific murder. They discover evidence of the crime, including an orthodontic retainer.

When Kylie and Amos discover that her neighbour uses a retainer, Kylie breaks into the man's house as she attempts to take his retainer. After she flees back home and hides in the basement, she panics and accidentally stabs Graeme. Amos attempts to break into her neighbour's house next but the neighbour says that he is not the killer. He tells the story of a young savant, Eugene, whom he adopted. Eugene is an expert at mechanics and electronics, and disappeared a year before the killing, though the neighbour believes him to be responsible.

Kylie discovers Eugene's secret hallways in their house. She and Amos converge at the police station, and Amos corroborates her wild stories of a serial killer living in the hidden passageways. However, the police find no evidence, and Dennis convinces all involved that it would be best if Kylie were institutionalized. Once Dennis reveals that he wears a retainer, Kylie becomes suspicious of him. When she confronts him with evidence that he was an intern at the halfway house, he attempts to kill Miriam and Kylie, while incapacitating Amos. Kylie and Miriam flee into the secret tunnels, where they encounter Eugene.

Realizing that their paranormal activity has been Eugene all this time, they are at first frightened but realise that he is friendly. Dennis stabs Eugene, knocks out Kylie, and begins to strangle Miriam. Eugene wakes Kylie and hands her a weapon, which she uses to stab Dennis. Eugene throws a switch, and high voltage explodes Dennis' head. Months later, all have recovered, Amos removes Kylie's ankle monitor, and Eugene has seemingly become an accepted (albeit mostly unseen) member of the household.

Cast

Production

Johnstone was first inspired to create a horror film after watching Ghosthunters on television and received additional inspiration from classic films such as The Changeling and The Legend of Hell House . [4] While writing the script Johnstone wanted the character of Kylie to be "someone that wouldn't scare easily. That way, when she does finally fall victim to fear, it's much more palpable." [4] He experienced some difficulty in achieving the film's exterior shots of the house, as budgetary issues limited their options of homes and renovations to the exterior of their chosen house during the course of filming also raised some issues. [4]

Release

Housebound had its world premiere at the South by Southwest film festival on 11 March 2014. [5]

Reception

Rotten Tomatoes, a review aggregator, reports that 96% of 46 surveyed critics gave the film a positive review; the average rating is 7.54/10. The site's consensus reads: "Alternately hilarious, gross, and simply diverting, Housebound is the rare horror-comedy that delivers on both fronts." [6] Metacritic rated it 76/100 based on 10 reviews. [7]

Hitfix gave it an A and wrote "sometimes at the festival you walk into a room knowing nothing, sit down, and get your skull punched in by a movie that is calibrated perfectly, that knows exactly what it wants to do, and that seems almost unnaturally confident considering it was made by a first-time feature director". [8] Fangoria praised the film, rating it at 3 out of 4 stars and stating that it "neatly carries some universal ideas about throwing away childish indignation and rebellion, and getting to know your parents as people with pasts and personal lives, not just nagging overseers." [9] Shock Till You Drop also gave Housebound a positive rating, as they considered it one of the highlights of South by Southwest. [10] Movies.com said it was a breath of fresh air for the often stale haunted-house genre. [11] Badass Digest told readers they had "a new favorite horror film of 2014". [12] Chuck Bowen of Slant Magazine rated it 2.5/4 stars and wrote that each of the film's elements are "competently and engagingly orchestrated" but do not combine into a coherent whole. [13]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.
2014Fright Meter AwardsBest Supporting ActressRima Te WiataWon [14]
Best Horror MovieHouseboundNominated
Best DirectorGerard JohnstoneNominated
Best ActressMorgana O'ReillyNominated
Best ScreenplayGerard JohnstoneNominated
Best EditingGerard JohnstoneNominated
Dead by Dawn Best Feature FilmHouseboundWon [15]
Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival Best Feature FilmHouseboundWon [16]
New Zealand Film & Television Awards Best ActressMorgana O'ReillyNominated [17]
Best Supporting ActressRima Te WiataNominated
Best DirectorGerard JohnstoneNominated
Best Make-UpJacinta DriverNominated
Best Costume DesignLissy MayerNominated
Best FilmHouseboundNominated
Best Visual EffectsMatt WestbrookeNominated
Best Production DesignJane BucknellNominated
Best CinematographySimon RieraNominated
Best SoundFranklin Road Sound Post ProductionNominated
Best Poster DesignJohnny LyonWon
Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival Audience AwardHouseboundWon [18]
Toronto After Dark Film Festival Best Horror FilmHouseboundWon [19]
Best Comedy FilmWon
Best Ensemble CastWon
2015 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards Best Limited Release FilmHouseboundNominated [20]
Best ScreenplayGerard JohnstoneNominated
Best Supporting ActressRima Te WiataNominated

Remake

In February 2015, New Line Cinema announced the production of a US remake. [21] Original writer and director Gerard Johnstone is set with Dave Neustadter and Walter Hamada as executive producer for New Line. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Katharine Isabelle</span> Canadian actress

Katharine Isobel Murray, known professionally as Katharine Isabelle, is a Canadian actress. She has been described as a scream queen due to her roles in various horror films. She started her acting career in 1989, playing a small role in the television series MacGyver. She gained fame for the role of Ginger Fitzgerald in the films Ginger Snaps, Ginger Snaps 2: Unleashed, and Ginger Snaps Back: The Beginning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debbie Rochon</span> Canadian actress

Debbie Ann Rochon is a Canadian actress and former stage performer, best known for her work in independent horror films and counterculture films.

<i>Castle Freak</i> 1995 American horror film directed by Stuart Gordon

Castle Freak is a 1995 American direct-to-video horror film directed by Stuart Gordon. The film stars Jeffrey Combs as John Reilly, an American recovering alcoholic who inherits an Italian castle when a distant relative passes away. John stays at the castle with his estranged wife Susan and blind daughter Rebecca, but a freakish monster locked away in the basement escapes and commits a series of murders.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marlene Forte</span> Cuban actress (active 1990-)

Ana Marlene Forte Machado, better known as Marlene Forte, is a Cuban actress and producer. She is perhaps best known for her role as Carmen Ramos on the television soap opera Dallas (2012–2014). Forte also had recurring roles in Fear the Walking Dead, The Fosters and Altered Carbon. Her notable film credits including A Haunted House (2013), El Chicano (2018), Knives Out (2019), and The Way Back (2020).

<i>Haunter</i> (film) 2013 Canadian film

Haunter is a 2013 Canadian supernatural horror film directed by Vincenzo Natali, written by Brian King, and starring Abigail Breslin. The film premiered at the 2013 South by Southwest Film Festival, and was picked up for U.S. distribution there by IFC Midnight.

<i>Starry Eyes</i> 2014 film directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer

Starry Eyes is a 2014 American horror film directed and written by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer. The film had its world premiere on March 8, 2014 at South by Southwest and features Alexandra Essoe as a hopeful young starlet who finds that fame's price is not always easily paid. Funding for the movie was partially raised through a successful Kickstarter campaign.

<i>At the Devils Door</i> 2014 American film

At the Devil's Door is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Nicholas McCarthy. The film had its world premiere on March 9, 2014, at South by Southwest. It stars Naya Rivera as a woman caught amidst ghostly events.

Morgana O'Reilly is a New Zealand film, television and theatre actress. She has appeared in several theatre productions and created the one-woman play The Height of the Eiffel Tower, which she performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2014. O'Reilly played Lynn Matthews in the biographical television film Billy and starred as Kylie Bucknell in the horror-comedy Housebound. She has made appearances in Nothing Trivial, Sunny Skies, This is Littleton. O'Reilly played Naomi Canning in Neighbours from 2013 until 2015. She made guest appearances in 2020 and 2022. She starred in sitcom Mean Mums and joined the cast of Wentworth as Narelle Stang in 2019. O'Reilly and her husband Peter Salmon created the comedy-thriller INSiDE, which won the International Emmy Award for Best Short-Form Series in 2021.

<i>The Final Girls</i> 2015 American comedy horror film

The Final Girls is a 2015 American comedy horror film directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson and written by M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller. The film stars Taissa Farmiga and Malin Åkerman, with supporting performances from Adam DeVine, Thomas Middleditch, Alia Shawkat, Alexander Ludwig, and Nina Dobrev. The plot follows a group of high school students who are transported into a 1986 slasher film called Camp Bloodbath.

<i>We Are Still Here</i> (2015 film) 2015 American film

We Are Still Here is a 2015 American horror film written and directed by Ted Geoghegan and starring Andrew Sensenig and Barbara Crampton as grieving parents who find themselves the focus of an attack by vengeful spirits. The film had its world premiere on 15 March 2015 at South by Southwest.

<i>Excess Flesh</i> 2015 American film

Excess Flesh is a 2015 American horror film directed by Patrick Kennelly, written by Sigrid Gilmer and Kennelly, and starring Bethany Orr and Mary Loveless. Orr and Loveless play the gorgeous new roommates who share an obsession with food.

<i>The Boy</i> (2015 film) American horror film

The Boy is a 2015 American horror film directed by Craig Macneill, written by Macneill and Clay McLeod Chapman, and starring Jared Breeze, David Morse, and Rainn Wilson. It is based on a short film by Macneill and Chapman, Henley, which was in turn loosely inspired by a novel written by Chapman, Miss Corpus. Breeze plays the titular boy, a budding serial killer.

<i>Girl House</i> 2014 Canadian film

Girl House is a 2014 Canadian horror slasher film directed by Trevor Matthews and written by Nick Gordon. It stars Ali Cobrin playing a woman in an X-rated reality web series and Slaine as the psychopath who stalks her.

<i>Hush</i> (2016 film) 2016 film by Mike Flanagan

Hush is a 2016 American slasher film directed and edited by Mike Flanagan, and starring Kate Siegel, who also co-wrote the film with Flanagan. The film co-stars John Gallagher Jr., Michael Trucco, Samantha Sloyan, and Emilia "Emma" Graves. It was jointly produced by Trevor Macy through Intrepid Pictures and Jason Blum through Blumhouse Productions.

Kate Gordon Siegelbaum, known professionally as Kate Siegel, is an American actress and screenwriter. She is known for her collaborations with her husband, filmmaker Mike Flanagan, appearing in his films Oculus (2013), Hush (2016), which she also co-wrote, Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016), and Gerald's Game (2017), as well as in his television series The Haunting of Hill House (2018), The Haunting of Bly Manor (2020), Midnight Mass (2021), and The Fall of the House of Usher (2023). She has been dubbed a "scream queen" due to her work in horror films and television.

<i>Girl on the Third Floor</i> 2019 horror film directed by Travis Stevens

Girl on the Third Floor is a 2019 horror film directed by Travis Stevens, written by Stevens, Paul Johnstone and Ben Parker, and starring Phil "CM Punk" Brooks, Trieste Kelly Dunn and Tonya Kay. The film tells the story of a deeply flawed man who renovates an old home for himself and his wife, and the supernatural events that ensue as they prepare to move in.

<i>Snatchers</i> 2019 American film

Snatchers is a 2019 American comedy horror film directed by Stephen Cedars and Benji Kleiman. It stars Mary Nepi and Gabrielle Elyse. The film had its world premiere at the 2019 South by Southwest on March 10, 2019. Variety included it on the "11 Best Movies of the 2019 SXSW Film Festival" list.

<i>Offseason</i> (film) 2021 horror film

Offseason is a 2021 supernatural horror film written and directed by Mickey Keating. It stars Jocelin Donahue, Joe Swanberg, Richard Brake, and Melora Walters. The film premiered at South by South West in March 2021 before a theatrical release by RLJE Films on March 11, 2022.

<i>Deadstream</i> 2022 American film

Deadstream is a 2022 American supernatural horror comedy film directed, written, produced and edited by wife and husband Vanessa and Joseph Winter in their directorial debut, with Joseph also acting as lead actor and soundtrack composer.

Gerard Johnstone is a New Zealand screenwriter and director. He is known for the comedy sitcom series The Jaquie Brown Diaries and the horror films Housebound and M3GAN.

References

  1. D'Alessandro, Anthony (8 January 2023). "How 'M3GAN' Boogied Her Way To The Box Office Via TikTok; Sequel Already In Works". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved 8 January 2023.
  2. "Dominic Corry: Gerard Johnstone on Housebound". NZ Herald. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  3. "Dark New Zealand Comedy HOUSEBOUND Visits The Loo In First Clip". Twitch Film. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 Whittaker, Richard. "SXSW Gets 'Housebound". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  5. "Schedule: Housebound". South by Southwest . Retrieved 16 November 2014.
  6. "Housebound (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  7. "Housebound". Metacritic . Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  8. McWeeny, Drew (15 March 2014). "Smart and funny, someone needs to snap this up". Hitfix . Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  9. Zimmerman, Samuel. ""HOUSEBOUND" (SXSW Movie Review)". Fangoria. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  10. Turek, Ryan. "SXSW Review: Housebound is the Real Discovery of the Fest". STYD. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  11. Hall, Peter (11 March 2014). "'Housebound' Mixes a Haunted-House Formula with Slasher Mystery to Create a Pretty Great Horror Movie". Movies.com . Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  12. Gholson, John (14 March 2014). "SXSW Review: Creepy Crowd-Pleaser HOUSEBOUND Makes A Big Impression". BadassDigest.com. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  13. Bowen, Chuck (12 October 2014). "Housebound". Slant Magazine . Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  14. "Fright Meter Awards". Frightmeterawards.com. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  15. "Dead by Dawn 2014". Deadbydawn.co.uk. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  16. "Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival". NIFFF.ch. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  17. Baillie, Russell (12 December 2014). "The Dark Horse sweeps NZ film awards". Nzherald.co.nz. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  18. "Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Fest: 2014 Winners".
  19. "Award Winners". Torontoafterdark.com. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  20. "Chainsaw Awards Exclusive: "HOUSEBOUND" 'For Your Consideration' Posters!". Fangoria.com. 3 March 2015. Retrieved 16 April 2016.
  21. "'Housebound' Getting Remade By New Line".
  22. "Housebound Being Remade".