Home Sick 2007

Home Sick (2007)

DIRECTED BY: Adam Wingard
REVIEWED BY: Mario Dominick

Adam Wingard (director of the soon-to-be-released Pop Skull) brings us this bizarre account from a screenplay by E.L. Katz (Mortuary, Autopsy) involving a creepy man in a suit (played by the great Bill Moseley) who one night shows up in a man’s house with a suitcase full of razor blades. He sits down and tells the guy and all his friends to name somebody who they hate. For every enemy named, the man in the suit slices his arm with the razors. Afterwards, the man disappears and is never heard from again. Soon, a mysterious hooded assailant in a black zipper mask begins doing away with all the people who the group mentioned in various brutal, gory and horrific ways. They eventually start to suspect that something weird is going on. As the mutilated bodies of their enemies are found, the group bands together and enlists the help of a friend’s uncle (Tom Towles) who happens to be a diehard firearms fanatic so they can go up against the killer and take him out. Unfortunately, a few of the guys end up having too much fun with the weapons and the group suddenly turns on each other resulting in a bloodbath and leading to a shocking conclusion.

Home Sick is one of the best recently released indie horrors. Shot on 16mm by Adam Wingard, the film has a very ‘80s horror feel to it and a ‘80s look that stays with it throughout its running time. If I didn’t know any better and you told me it was a movie made in the ‘80s, I’d almost certainly believe it. The cast, which features Bill Moseley, Tom Towles and Tiffany Shepis, is excellent (Jeff Dylan Graham is also featured as a victim in the opening scene). The gore effects (by Jonathan Thornton) are sickening and plentiful. We get a knife through a head, a foot sawed in half with a hack saw, fingernails ripped out, a head crushed against basement steps, a skull mashed with a sledgehammer, a person cut in half, head twisted off, and more. The score by Zombi is also very good.

The Synapse Films DVD of Home Sick presents the movie in widescreen and extras featured on the disc include a commentary with Adam Wingard and E.L. Katz, a featurette entitled “In A Room Where Darkness Counts” where Wingard basically speaks his mind to give us insight on how the movie was made, three short films from Wingard and Katz, an alternate opening sequence, and an interview with Bill Moseley entitled “The Mr. Suitcase Interview.”

Slasher fans will definitely enjoy Home Sick. The film is loaded with gore, nudity, and the types of characters you’re used to seeing in ‘80s horror flicks, the kind that act sarcastic, tough, and macho and ultimately find themselves coming up on the short end of the stick in the end. For diehard fans of those kind of movies, Synapse’s DVD is a must have for your library.