Director: Gerard Johnstone
MPAA Rating: NR
Purchase: Amazon
Historically, horror comedies have always been something of a mixed bag. It’s a tough endeavor to juggle the scary bits with the humorous bits, and while some have completely nailed it, others have crashed and burned. Fortunately, Gerard Johnstone’s Housebound falls into the former category, delivering a spooky, inventive horror film that doesn’t sacrifice story for ham-fisted comedy.
The film revolves around a young woman played by Morgana O’Reilly getting arrested for blowing up an ATM and sentenced to 8 months of house arrest in her family home. She has a rocky relationship with her mother and step father and worse yet, it turns out the house may be haunted.
The fact that she is unable to leave her home due to her ankle bracelet makes for a clever spin on the haunted house story, which has stagnated over the last couple years. Much of the comedy comes from this fact and that not only must she contend with a malevolent presence terrorizing her, but she also has to deal with her nagging and overbearing mother.
With smart writing, great characters, and a few very fun twists, Housebound is definitely one to check out, especially if you can pick it up on Blu-ray. The disc features a number of deleted scenes as well as a commentary track by the filmmakers, which provides plenty of entertaining insight into the creation of the film.
For a more detailed written review of the film itself, check out our written review here or listen to episode 139 of our podcast for another review here.
