Follows Max, who realizes that the residents and caretakers in the retirement home he started working at hide sinister secrets.
Chuck says:
Max has something in common with the residents of the Green Meadow nursing home – they’re all out of chances. The difference is that while time has caught up with the seniors in this living facility, Max has squandered every opportunity that’s come his way. Then again, it stands to reason, the former foster child still traumatized by his brother Luke’s sudden death years earlier, his repeated run ins with the law a cry for help. Now, required to complete a four-month stint of community service at the home, he notices residents have been disappearing, while the blood-curdling screams coming from the fourth floor indicate something is terribly wrong here.
James DeMonaco’s “The Home” is a surprisingly effective shocker that benefits greatly from a clever script, steadily building tension and a solid lead performance. As Max, Pete Davidson’s at-loose-ends persona is a perfect fit for the character, a lost yet morally sound young man who knows he’s a square peg in a round hole society. Emotionally damaged, he still has a sense of empathy which, ironically, leads to trouble. Were he able to keep to himself, he wouldn’t care when some of the elderly residents go missing, His refusal to look away is commendable, yet foolish.
DeMonaco and his co-writer Adam Cantor effectively create a sense of mounting dread, each odd incident Max observes getting stranger than the last. This is punctuated by a series of increasingly disturbing dreams our hero experiences, each containing clues pertaining to the mystery of the missing residents, each becoming more graphic in their depictions of self-mutilation. This film is not for the faint of heart or squeamish.
Complementing the writers’ fine work is Anastas Michos atmospheric cinematography, the film cast in a perpetual autumn gloom, the hallways of the seemingly ever-expanding facility fighting to keep the darkness at bay. Also of note is the music from Nathan Whitehead, the soundtrack becoming more manic as Max’s mind fractures. Unlike most genre efforts, his work never overwhelms the action, complimenting it throughout.
Horror fans will likely be pleased once the big reveal occurs. The answer to where the missing patients go and just what is happening on the fourth-floor holds water within the movie’s twisted logic. Equally important, and refreshing, is that Max is an intelligent protagonist, not required to do one stupid thing after another to keep the action moving or put himself in peril to generate suspense. You won’t find yourself asking “Why did he do that?” while Davidson proves to be appealing, as he brings a quiet determination to Max that’s relatable
The film doesn’t overstay its welcome and once the blood-soaked climax occurs, DeMonaco and company deliver the kind of cathartic genre aficionados will revel in. That you’ll likely feel as though you’ll need a long, hot bath afterwards means “The Home” has done its job.
