Director/writer: David Morlet.
Cast: Marty Adams, Shaun Benson, Meghan Heffern and Adam MacDonald.
This reviewer is familiar with French director David Morlet's previous work, Mutants. Mutants was an undead film set in a post-apocalyptic landscape; Mutants was an exciting film, set in a dangerous environment. Morlet's second feature and first English film, Home Sweet Home, is less exciting, however. This second feature is meant as a suspense driven thriller, but there is very little tension here. The film's pacing is obscenely slow and the story is overly simple. The film's budget is also meagre and Morlet's latest outing will only satisfy the most die-hard horror or thriller fans.
The film is not really plot driven. And, the story is broken down quite easily. A couple returns to their home after "date night." Someone is waiting for them there. A masked trespasser has sealed any exits and clothed himself in disposable coveralls. Once Frank (Adam MacDonald) and Sara (Meghan Heffern) return home, the burglar or potential killer strikes. The next sixty minutes is spent with the killer and Sara slowly plodding through the home. Very few story elements develop, until the ending finally arrives.
Some tension is created by the killer's anonymity.
The pacing in this film is dreadfully slow. There is no impetus in the writing to keep the film moving forward. Instead, plot elements seem to go in circles. For instance, several minutes are spent in a cat and mouse sequence. The killer stalks Sara halfheartedly. Then, Sara almost escapes the trap, but the killer captures her. And, the cat and mouse sequences almost begin again. These stalking scenes are too repetitive and the film's story never really comes to a satisfying conclusion. The events onscreen needed to follow a faster tempo, in order to create more excitement.
Home Sweet Home is a disappointing second effort from Morlet. It is good to see Morlet trying other genres, settings and story ideas. Yet, the material here is very weak and uncomplex. As an example, the only conflict that is delivered in the film's first twenty minutes involves a phone call from a local sheriff and a few answering machine messages. There is no initial hook to draw the viewer in, outside of the killer's mysterious identity. Home Sweet Home did not have the budget it needed to create enough horror or thrills to keep the film entertaining, for this viewer. All of the shots are recorded in a single setting, with few characters. Most horror and thriller fans will find this outing unsatisfying.
This title released on DVD May 12th and film fans would be best served seeking out Morlet's earlier work, Mutants. Mutants is a much more entertaining film with more characters and differing scenarios. Morlet's transition to an English language feature is a little bumpy, because of the sparse plot details and slow pacing. And, there really is no reason for other film goers to wait through eighty minutes expecing events to pick up speed, especially since they never really do.
Overall: 6 out of 10.
*distributed by Screen Media in Canada.
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