by Mark Hockley
James DeMonaco is best known for creating The Purge franchise. Now with The Home, which he both writes and directs, DeMonaco explores themes of aging, mortality and the fear of lost youth. On paper, the premise offers promise. In practice, however, it falls disastrously flat.
The Home is, regrettably, a near-complete failure. The performances are uneven at best, with John Glover standing out for all the wrong reasons. Cast as a retired thespian, Glover delivers a portrayal that wavers between wooden and overblown. Some of the fault lies with him, but the larger issue is a script that veers into the ludicrous. What begins as a potentially eerie mystery devolves into a succession of implausible twists. This all culminates in a blood-soaked finale that aims for shock value, but instead underscores how incoherent the preceding material has been.
The most watchable element here is Pete Davidson. He is Max, a young man who discovers that the residents and staff of a retirement home are hiding dark secrets. Best known for his comedy work on Saturday Night Live, Davidson manages to retain some credibility amidst the chaos. He throws himself into the role, but the flimsy writing and clumsy staging ensure that no one—him included—can rise above the material.
Visually, the film is polished yet lifeless, a hollow professionalism that mirrors the overall lack of imagination. Nathan Whitehead’s score suffers a similar fate: serviceable, but forgettable. Considering Whitehead’s excellent work on the video game Days Gone, it seems clear that he simply delivered the uninspired cues the production demanded.
Some viewers may have some fun with the carnage of the final act, but even the gore feels unearned, with no emotional or narrative weight behind it. For most audiences, The Home will be an exercise in frustration.
The Home screened as part of Frightfest 2025.
Bloody Flicks 