Stay far, far away from Pete Davidson’s ‘Home’
With Pete Davidson as its star, you’d expect “The Home” to feature some marginally crude humor. And to an extent, it generates laughter. But not in the way horror maven James DeMonaco intended. No, this alleged scarefest is too bizarre, too preposterous to elicit anything beyond a giggle. And that’s saying something considering DeMonaco is the dude responsible for those equally inane “Purge” flicks.
With “The Home,” he outdoes himself, creating a story so disjointed it feels like it was concocted on the fly, and so convoluted that it requires a detailed explanation late in the picture. Worse, it’s not the least bit suspenseful, partly because its characters project as phony as the out-of-left-field plot twists.
You can hear the cogs grinding and rattling almost as distinctly as the cacophonous screams emanating from the mysterious fourth floor of the gothic Green Meadows retirement home. That’s where Davidson’s grieving, felonious graffiti artist, Max, is sent to perform his community service after this budding Banksy gets nabbed for tagging a factory wall. As the facility’s live-in janitor, Max has been commanded to learn “to play by the rules.” But how can he when his curiosity is immediately piqued by the eerie sounds of patients in distress on four?
Because Max is portrayed by Pete Davidson, an actor famous for challenging authority, it’s a safe bet Max will disregard the warnings of the home’s on-site MD, D.W. Sabian (Bruce Altman), to stay off four. Sure enough, the temptation is too great. And it becomes even greater after a senior confides to him that “There’s something terribly wrong with this place.” And once Max uncovers the ugly truth, watch out!
The plot is paper-thin, as is Davidson’s acting, basically playing the guy he always plays – himself. And that’s a killer because you never see Max as anyone other than Pete Davidson in a custodian uniform. He does, however, achieve a hint of chemistry with old pros like Altman and John Glover as Lou, the facility’s resident theater and recreation director.
There are also a couple of genuinely nice moments between Davidson and Mary Beth Peil (“Dawson’s Creek”) as Norma, a kindred spirit who shares Max’s love of art and an unresolved sorrow over having lost someone dear to her. For Norma, it was her beloved son. And for Max, it was the sudden death years ago of his foster brother and fellow orphan, Luke (Matthew Miniero).
That’s pretty much the extent of any character development in a half-baked screenplay devoted to a series of jump scares and grotesque images of old folks wasting away. It’s not what you’d call a favorable depiction of the elderly, nor is it meant to be. DeMonaco has said it was his and co-writer Adam Cantor’s aim to present an over-the-top allegory about the perceived parasitical nature of baby boomers to needlessly deplete resources with no regard for the wellbeing of future generations.
It’s a noble, albeit questionable, objective. But the execution is seriously lacking, relying less on bold societal critiques and more on horror cliches that reach their pinnacle during a hurricane – in Upstate New York! Now, that’s monumental! But I’m sure it doesn’t compare to the film’s budget, most of which was seemingly lavished on the gallons and gallons of fake blood and slime used to magnify the hideousness of the ghostly, drooling figures we spy propped up half-dead in their wheelchairs on level 4.
It befits a director in lockstep with hackneyed horror tropes, including that tired stunt in which violent, terrifying attacks on the protagonist are later revealed to be nightmares. It’s a device DeMonaco falls back on more than once or thrice. It’s representative of a “Home” constructed with minimal thought and built on the flimsiest of foundations.
Movie review
The Home
Rated: Not rated
Cast: Pete Davidson, John Glover, Bruce Altman and Matthew Miniero
Director: James DeMonaco
Writers: James DeMonaco and Adam Cantor
Runtime: 95 minutes
Where: In theaters July 25
Grade: D-
