DVD Review: HouseBound
Maybe you have to be a born and bred Kiwi to appreciate kiwi films. I spent the first 17 years of my life in England, raised on Monty Python, Dad’s Army and (just for balance) MASH. As such I tend to fin a lot of Kiwi cinema a little lacking. HouseBound starts out in typical Kiwi, uninspiring fashion, borrowing heavily from the horror genre, delivering nothing new.
The plot goes something along the lines of…
Kylie Bucknell is forced to return to the house she grew up in when the court places her on home detention. However, when she too becomes privy to unsettling whispers & strange bumps in the night, she begins to wonder whether she’s inherited her overactive imagination, or if the house is in fact possessed by a hostile spirit who’s less than happy about the new living arrangement.
Yes, as I said, nothing original there. But as the film progresses and we get a few laughs, mostly low key Kiwi humour, but a few laugh out loud moments, you’ll also start to notice something. Morgana O’Reilly’s character Kylie is a tough, I don’t give a toss Kiwi lass, who for the most part isn’t just going to roll over and die. She is no hapless female character for a serial killer to dispatch. She is going to kick arse.
This is a nice twist for the genre, and whilst it doesn’t raise the film above a 2 1/2 star rating, it dose make it worth while watching for fans of the genre, and Kiwi films in general.
Rating: R13 Violence, horror scenes & offensive language.
FILMGUIDE rating:
