(2008) *** ½
Meet David Poe, alcoholic Lutheran pastor.
Meet Clare Poe, psychiatrist and wife of David.
Meet Jack and Emily Poe, their sadistic twins.
I had to take a break from French films when I stumbled across this little gem. I love found footage films, so I couldn’t resist. I wasn’t sure what to expect, based on the trailer it seemed the type of movie that could be really good or total crap. Luckily, I was pleasantly surprised at what I saw.
Home movie is a string of found home movies that depict the lives of the Poe family, particularly their children’s descent into evil, which begins with a frog in a vice, then the crucifixion of the family cat, followed by more lethal acts.
What makes this film a blast is its comedic element. What I didn’t realize going into this film is that it’s more comedy than horror, and it totally works. David Poe is such a nut bag, a fun nut bag though. He drinks too much, he preaches too much, he is overly obsessed with capturing every last detail of his family’s lives on video, and he likes to dress up in Santa suits at Christmas and as the Easter Bunny on the day Jesus rose. Jack and Emily are not amused, and rather annoyed with their father’s antics.
I also love that David is a pastor and Clare a psychiatrist. It’s a cliché, but one that works. The writer pokes fun at how the two professions handle the children’s wrong doings. For instance, David tries to perform an exorcism to expunge the evil from their little bodies, while Clare prescribes the twins three different medications, and states, “There are no good children, there are no bad children, there is only diagnosis.”
At just an hour and sixteen minutes, this film is the perfect length, and the home movies come off quite realistic. This is especially true in the opening scenes. You really, really feel like you’re watching someone’s annoying home videos. I highly recommend this for a short, fun film.
