Cast: Pete Davidson, John Glover, Adam Cantor, Bruce Altman, Ethan Phillips, Mary Beth Peil, Jessica Hecht
Written and Directed By: james DeMonaco
Release Year: 2025
Runtime: 95 minutes
Audio Description Produced By: 52 52
Written By:
Narrated By: Darren Polish
What Is it?: A man (Davidson) is sentenced to probation at an old folks home, where he does odd jobs. Pretty quickly he catches on that something isn’t right, but the truth is far stranger than he could possibly expect, and finding it may cost him dearly.
What Works: This is bananas. You likely will leave with a lot of questions.I can imagine the conversation started at “what if we made cocoon now, but it was a horror film?”
then, someone dropped acid, and the Home was born. I won’t say this film is scary, but it is certainly disturbing. it also feels like a nice departure for Davidson, who takes on a bit more serious role, with just a few tinges of dark comedy.
This is such an odd duck of a film, because it certainly has a schlocky feel to the plot, and some of the scenes are just gross. Like, there’s a scene where someone collects fluid from eyes, and then offers it as a drink. I wish i could give that context, but explaining it won’t make it any less strange, or stomach churning.
I validate everyone who doesn’t like this, but there’s something about its weird goofy charm, and utterly insane plot, where I found myself answering the most basic question of “did I like it” with a surprising “yes.” I’m not ready to run to the top of a hill and die on it for this, but it is bizarrely entertaining, and has one of the most utterly insane concepts I’ve seen for a film recently. I’m sure it has been done in some form before, but there are certain aspects, where they make the more horrifying choice, where things take a turn and that interested me.
IMDb had the first sub genre listed as Splatter Horror, and that won’t make sense until the third act. So, if you are coming here specifically for the gore, it isn’t frontloaded, but rather allowed to develop as Pete uncovers the mysteries of the Home.
The Audio Description: For a company I’ve never heard of before, they managed to nail Darren Polish, who delivers a solid performance, and found someone to write an AD script that understands just how icky this can get. So, kudos to the new kid on the block for a competent track, which has a few moments of brilliance in some of the gore. There’s a lot of mayhem here, and it probably could have gone further, but it is far more than I’ve gotten from other films. I’d hire them again.
Why you Might Like it: You are looking for a totally batshit crazy horror film, and somehow 2025 hasn’t filled that quota for you yet.
Why You Might Not Like It: It is schlocky, but in the best of ways in my opinion. However, it will be a turnoff for some.
Final Thoughts: The Home should probably be burned to the ground, but that’s just the home within the home. If home is where the heart lives, we’re all doomed, because this film is properly absurd in the ickiest of ways.
Fresh: Final Grade: 6.7/10