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HOME
SWEET HOME
PLOT
A hulking psycho busts out of a mental asylum and goes on a murdering
spree, targeting a group of people gathered at an isolated ranch for
Thanksgiving.
REVIEW
If you're going to waste your money on an old, crusty, and BAD slasher,
this is the one to do it on...although you may want to consider forking over
a little to getting a buzz on before you commence watching it.
"Home Sweet Home" has just about everything that a bad slasher lover could
want; a lack of any real story that allows the killer to just get down to
business, some hilarious dialogue that sounds like it was scribbled out on a
paper bag and then given to the cast minutes before shooting, and some
pretty fun kills that show some imagination despite the obvious lack of
budget (believe me, some of them will make your jaw drop to the fuckin
floor!). This one also has the distinction of being the ONLY
Thanksgiving-themed slasher (why more movies haven't used this as an excuse
to get a bunch of people together just so they can be bumped off is beyond
me), as well as featuring "Big Brother" Jake Steinfeld (who attacks his
first role with rabid glee) as a muscle head-killing machine.
This one starts off with a pretty memorable opening sequence as Jake
steals a car, injects PCP into his tongue, and then proceeds to mow down an
elderly lady standing in a crosswalk! From the get-go this movie let's you
know that this is hardcore slash-trash of the highest cheese quotient and
the lowest denominator.
As the movie plods along, we're introduced to possibly one of the most
warped gathering of people. What their relationship to each other is
never really elaborated, and getting Thanksgiving dinner on the table seems
to be the last thing on their minds. They pretty much say their insipid
lines before wandering off to fetch something or look for the last person
who said "I'll be back in five minutes". Needless to say, none of them
return because BIG CRAZY JAKE is lurking about the underbrush.
This motley crew of undesirables consists of a couple of greaseballs, a
pair of ditzy tramps, a lame-ass guitar playin' "teenager" (who wears mime
make-up and does magic tricks...obviously the actor's day job.), a little
girl, the token hero/heroine couple, and...my favourite...a wailing Latina
who doesn't speak a lick of English (it's not exactly Spanish, either) and
bangs out ditties on her acoustic. These folks are worth the price of
admission alone.
As far as the action of this pic goes, we're first treated to some
bullshit comedy antics (it's the unintentional stuff that scores the real
laughs) and a little splash of T&A before night falls and Jake starts gettin
serious about spillin' blood. He's a pretty original psychopath for a movie
that doesn't have much depth to begin with. With his massive girth, twisted
facial expressions, and his high-pitched giggling (oh yes), I can honestly
say I haven't seen anything quite like him. Despite all the qualities that
make "Home Sweet Home" sleazy and cheesy, it manages to do the impossible of
generating a little (very, very, VERY LITTLE) suspense about mid-way through
(the stalking scene in the woods is pretty good).
People pretty much gets killed off until it becomes obvious to the
remaining guests that something fucked up is going on. The last third sort
of lags as the token couple try to make sense of it all and the little girl
sits there with a shit-eating grin because she knows it’s all make-believe.
And what would a slasher be without the proverbial final showdown between
the killer and the heroine (who seems to be a little more indifferent to the
mayhem surrounding her up until this point)? Jake pretty much goes into
Terminator-mode while blondie goes into what looks like an epileptic fit as
her screams are looped into infinity. If you've made it this far into the
movie, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out how the whole mess
ends.
Just a little trivia; this is from the same producer/writer team that
brought us such classics as "Demented", "To All a Good Night", and "Terror
on Tour"...if that gives you any idea..."Home Sweet Home" probably being the
best of the rotten bunch.
GORE
Not bad, but not that great either...good ideas, but not executed well
enough. Some stabbings, a nasty eye-gouging, and a death by electric
guitar. There are some great (yes, the jaw-dropping ones) scenes where Jake
demonstrates his strength by crushing a guy under the hood of a car, and
another where he brains a girl by tossing her against a rock...must be seen
for the full effect. A lot of the gore scenes are really dark, probably to
hide their imperfections.
SOUNDTRACK
Pretty standard, ominous stuff that foreshadows anything bad happening,
but it works well enough I guess...the "teenager" tweaks out crap on his
guitar once and awhile, and the Latina's acoustic musings are a hoot.
BOTTOM LINE
If you want a good slasher, or have no desire to go beyond the classics,
skip it...this movie doesn't need you. However, I think this movie should
be seen at least once. Great movie for getting trashed with friends and
just having a good time laughing at how bad it is, and it's for that very
reason that "Home Sweet Home" rarely becomes a bore.
Watch it, be thankful that you aren't one of these people and that there are
people out there ballsy enough to make this brand of entertainment
Review
By: The Scaremaker
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