Troubled Max (Peter Davidson), still reeling from the loss of his big brother, is sentenced to community service at a seniors’ nursing home, Green Meadows. While he gets on with his mundane duties, he sees some disturbing things – a masked couple making love and a woman bleeding from the head in the swimming pool – but he also befriends one of the residents, Norma (Mary Beth Peil), who takes him under her wing. He struggles to sleep as he hears noises and screaming coming from the fourth floor – a place where he’s been forbidden. As the days go on, he finds that there’s something very wrong with the place.
Davidson provides a very measured performance, vulnerable and surprisingly endearing. Among the ensemble of residents are John Glover (Gremlins 2: The New Batch), who plays a ponytailed former actor, and Ethan Phillips (Star Trek: Voyager), who both add a sense of gravitas to the inhabitants. Director (and co-writer) James DeMonaco (The Purge) fills the screen with grotesque and disturbing imagery, building a mystery that culminates in a mix of David Cronenberg and Brian Yuzna. There are plenty of cheap, clichéd shocks along the way, but DeMonaco knows how to utilise expectations and build to a gore-laden finale in which all hell breaks loose (even if what’s going on is fairly predictable).
Given the shock and gore, the film’s strength lies in the quieter character interactions, particularly between Max and Norma. While it may not hit home completely – the tone shifts far too often – the cast and some gnarly effects save it.
THE HOME screened at FrightFest on August 21st.
