Homecoming

The Homecoming
$29.95
The Homecoming (Peter Hall, 1973)

I read Harold Pinter's play late last year, and then saw this adaptation of it crop up on a couple of thousand-best-films lists soon afterwards (for the record, they were Peter Travers' and the New York Times'). Synchronicity! I had to see it ASAP, and here we are.

If you're unfamiliar with the play, a quick synopsis: Joey (Elizabeth's Terence Rigby) and Lenny (Ian Holm), their father Max (the gifted stage actor Paul Rogers), and Max's brother Sam (My Left Foot's Cyril Cusack) all live together in a flat in London. None of them is of a great deal of use; the one truly productive member of the family, Sam, is an insufferable prig, while the others are generally layabouts. We see them in the beginning going through their normal lives, until the other brother, Teddy (Michael Jayston) arrives for a visit with his wife Ruth (Vivien Merchant, then Pinter's wife in life). Teddy assures her a number of times that his family will like her a great deal. Then they all finally meet, and, well, things get absurd.

It's a smashing play, both straightforward and complex at the same time, both uproariously funny and possessed of a deep hopelessness at the human condition. And really, when you've got such a great play, the only thing you need to make it into a great film is a cast who can actually bring a good interpretation to the material and a director who's willing to film the thing without changing too much. Well, Hall was a stage director before he was a film director, so no problems there, and there's a top-notch cast to be had here. How can you possibly go wrong? Short answer: you can't. Has been seen by far too few people these days, and should be seen by many, many more. ****

Masters of Horror: Joe Dante - Homecoming
$14.98
I guess judging by the reviews, this is a love it or hate it type of film. I happen to fall under the latter category.

"Homecoming" is directed by Joe Dante who also directed one of my favorite horror films of all times, "The Howling" (The Howling (Special Edition)). There he was able to incorporate humor with bone-chilling terror. Something he doesn't do too well with "Homecoming". The humour is there but the horror is nowhere to be found. This well acted mess about soldier zombies coming back to life to vote is a commentary on the Bush administration and the war it's most famous for but as a horror tale, it left me cold (no pun intended) and bored to pieces. Personally, I do not care if a film is trying to make a political statement that I agree or disagree with. I watch films, and especially horror films (my favorite genre) to be entertained and Dante failed me. Go ahead and bash the previous (then current) administration using art but come on, if you are going to make a zombie movie than you better deliver the gory goods; severed limbs, entrails, brains, ripped apart flesh, blood squirting in every direction, a few scenes of the putrefied green yuck emanating from the undead's rotting flesh etc. I sat through this zombie film and got none of the above. Maybe a few scenes of tame violence and decent zombie make-up. Even Michael Jackson's "Thriller" gave me more goosebumps than this turkey. Maybe John Landis should have been the choice to direct this installment since he did a pretty good job with that music video and his contribution to season one was a lot more successful in combining comedy with some mild tension. At least, his "Deer Woman" (Masters of Horror - Deer Woman) was wickedly amusing.

The pacing is also excruciating. At barely 60 minutes the film moves at a turtle's pace and by the time the end credits start rolling, that is, if you're still awake, you're left questioning how a 2 hour long movie only took 60 minutes? The reason this escapes a one star rating is because Thea Gill gives a great performance and by her presence alone, the entertainment value of this short piece is raised slightly and the zombie make-up is not half-bad. As far as the horror is concerned, well, how do I put this mildly? There is none. If you're looking for thrill, chills and disturbing spills, you're better off watching an episode of "Dancing with the Stars". Unless your idea of time well spent is spending 60 minutes of your life watching overtly cheesy zombie's trying to make a political statement. One of the most disappointing episodes of the series.

Homecoming
$19.99
You can get all of the Warner Archive Collection movies at TCM for $17.99, instead of the Amazon price of $28.98. Even with TCM's S&H it's a better deal.

Homecoming (Tillerman Series)
$6.99
This book was shipped as quick as stated. Great condition. I've read it and it's fabulous!