Housebound

For those expecting campy reckonings akin to the meme-worth antics delivered by Gerard Johnstone’s cult hit M3GAN, viewers of Housebound will not be disappointed. (Tapdancing, need I say more?)

While Johnstone’s storytelling may have taken a turn toward more humorous horrors in 2023, Housebound follows the traditional twists and turns you might ordinarily associate with the genre.

But this isn’t your everyday fright flick. As we follow protagonist Kylie (a character who never really grows on you), offbeat witticisms are hidden within more chilling scenes.

We begin in a car park, two masked people preparing for a robbery – only the cool tones of the scene and eery soundtrack remind us this is a horror, not a heist. Tension is soon cut after our protagonist’s accomplice knocks himself out. In these few moments, the tone for the film is set.

Early on we’re shown the parameters of our house arrest. Soon after follows a scene even more claustrophobia inducing - parents grilling a moody Kylie about the latest tech over dinner. And what could be worse than that? No phone credit, no means of escape.

Though some of the dialogue strikes you as surprisingly contemporary (a mention of heat pumps and the grants that fund them could trick you into thinking this was a new release) other elements have me questioning if I’m watching a TV soap.

A standout moment of the film though is surely the doorbell ringing, thus bringing the peak of the film’s action to a not-quite screeching hold. Timed with perfect precision, what rings through the house is a sound you could only ever associate with a parent’s home.

With a second half more gripping than the first (if we excuse what many horrors are guilty of – a scene of blood and guts that goes on far too long) Housebound is a whimsical take on horror. At the film’s core, and what can only endear you to it, is the relationship between mother and daughter with a standout performance from Rima Te Wiatam as Miriam.

Housebound is a horror with heart, with the humour being not quite ha ha funny and the horror being not quite jump out of your seat chilling. Yet, if you can forgive its sins, you might just enjoy the ride.

Available to rent or buy on VOD and EST Platforms: iTunes, Amazon, Google, Sky Store, Virgin Media, YouTube from 2nd October 2023.