After getting in trouble with the police for his detailed graffiti, Max (Pete Davidson) is sent to do community work at a seemingly innocent elderly home in New Jersey called Green Meadows. But he quickly realises that everything is not quite as it seems, especially on the mysterious fourth floor…
Acting opposite Davidson is the legendary John Glover (Smallville, Scrooged), who takes on the quirky role of theatrical teacher Lou. STARBURST caught up with John to dig into acting dynamics, filming locations, horror, and everything else you need to know about James DeMonaco’s (The Purge) latest creative output, The Home…
How would you pitch the plot of The Home?
Beware of the fourth floor! Max broke into some place and painted something, and instead of sending him to jail for a while, they make him the janitor of Green Meadows. That’s how he gets into the home, and then things start happening. He is curious, so he starts looking, and then gets reprimanded. When The Home grabs you, you keep wondering “What’s going on, what are they doing?” I mean, these are elderly people, what’s up? And the question is answered very slowly…
How was the acting experience for yourself, and what can you tell us about your character, Lou?
It was an amazing kind of whirlwind, and the film is full of surprises. I play an off-Broadway actor, who has retired, and who lives at the home. I teach acting classes to the other inmates. I guess I was still in my 70s when I got the job, and I thought “I’m not old enough to be in an old age home”, but now I’m 81, and I can understand! It was great, and I’m very proud of it.
What was it like to work opposite Pete Davidson?
Pete Davidson comes out very well, and the camera just loves him. He is the centre of it. I wish that I had gotten a couple more close-ups with him, but you can’t tell the director that after the movie. He is just there, that’s what I say. It’s not that he is acting, he is just being, and it’s a wonderful performance. He’s got a face that’s just amazing. I’d love to work with him again.
Writer-director James DeMonaco has worked in horror quite heavily – what did his background in the genre bring to this film in particular?
Yeah, James did The Purge movies, which were frightening. I went and watched a couple of them when I found out that he was directing, because I wanted to see his work. They scared the crap out of me! I could only watch two because they were too horrifying. So, The Home is a really good horror movie, and things are not what they seem to be…
He put together a fantastic cast as well…
All of the actors are just wonderful. They’ve been acting all of their lives. There were a lot of New York actors that I knew, loved, and admired, so the movie is full of talented people. Everybody was gung-ho, and we had a ball. So, I’m hoping to work with James DeMonaco again.
Green Meadows is a real location! Did it bring a sense of realism?
Yeah, it was a nursing home in New Jersey, it was a dormitory for the nurses, so it was in that old home with all of those things, and people falling out of windows onto things… It was great, and it was part of the thing about being real, that we were in this big dormitory, that people worked in, and lived in. It’s just a blast, and I can’t say enough!
Finally, why should STARBURST Magazine readers watch The Home?
To have a good time and get a great scare on! I recommend it highly! I’m proud of my work in The Home. I recommend it for a nice scary night. Things start out very nice in an old age home, but I hope people don’t just think of it as a bunch of old people… It’s terrific. Go see it! It’s a really good movie, and it’s scary. I love to be somebody else, that’s when I’m most happy, when I’m playing somebody else, it frees me, and this one certainly did free me.
THE HOME is available now to buy and rent digitally.
