Housebound

Housebound (2014)

Runtime: 107 minutes

Directed by: Gerald Johnstone

Starring: Morgana O'Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Ross Harper, Cameron Rhodes

From: Semi-Professional

If you guys want to read a review apparently so good that it inspired several people I follow/follow me on Letterboxd to add it to their watchlist (a first), check this out:

I try not to think of how I am going to rate a movie as I am watching it. Sometimes it happens, though. No matter that, it's a rare thing for me for think of a movie one way then it change for the better due to how it finishes. What happens too often is that I am turned off pretty early and the movie never recovers. But this is an uncommon film where I thought I would just rate it “fine” early on but once I saw where it was going then the final act hit, I can give it a high rating.

In short, this is a New Zealand motion picture where a young female felon (Kylie) is arrested and she's been in trouble often. She gets 8 months of house arrest with her mother and stepfather, whom she both hates. Kylie is a pretty loathsome character early on; it was amusing at times but overbearing at others. As the plot progresses, though, things do change. The big mystery is if the house is haunted or not. The mom believes so, Kylie doesn't.

I won't reveal more about the plot as the key component of the film is how you expect it to be one thing and several times things are flipped and it goes in completely unexpected directions. I'll just leave it at that; even if it's quite absurd it is also quite entertaining and it does get funnier as it goes along so if you don't enjoy it at first you may change your mind the further along you watch the film.

I have to give credit to the cast of unknowns (especially Morgana O'Reilly, who doesn't have the easiest role and despite the opening act I ended up enjoying her character and she ended up as “bitchy smartass” instead of “awful bitchy person”) for helping make this film work and I am glad this was a pleasant surprise as I was worried this would be another “miss that most think is a hit”.