Fantasia XXX Review: In HOME BODIES, There’s Only One Way Out!
Home Bodies enjoyed its World Premiere at the 30th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival.
In Home Bodies, there’s something awfully weird happening…
Red (Emma Ho) and Blue (Ian Ho) live idyllic, color-coordinated lives in their automated home where what they wear, their meals, what they watch, and even when they wake up and go to sleep are performed in a timely fashion. There are no windows, or any tangible exits. One door answers to the push of a button to call on Papa (Casey Walker) to help resolve conflict between the two siblings through a bright light fixed atop. Another door stays locked with a slight glimmer visible through the keyhole on occasion, and one door takes you straight downstairs to a cellar where garbage is disposed and picked up accordingly seconds later.
Aside from being delivered daily tapes of a children’s show full of talking animal puppets, and playing “catch ball” to see how long they can keep up with each other, that’s pretty much the gist of their day-to-day. Point in fact, you can visibly see how mundane it all is all over Red’s face, as opposed to Blue whose juvenile and playful demeanor is, and neither of them have seen outside this peculiar domicile with its bleak decour and dark corrdiors made treadable only with sensor-ready lights. Of course, the one exciting day they get is one where a Christmas tree pops up and they each get gifts of some kind. One such day occurs near the top of this dark and scintillating tale with one gift arriving in the form of Pal (Ess Hödlmoser) – life-sized and mute, and with no real instructions for the two young residents on what to do, except by way of Papa’s request which is to take care of it, and abide by the rules.
That’s the basic framework that co-star and director Walker offers in his introductory of Home Bodies, written by Adrian Murray and Marcus Sullivan for a cerebral sci-fi tale full of mystique in all its simplicity and unexpectant horror. The performances alone by our cast are sharply well done, and lend to the film’s distinct impression for its target audience, coupled with intense moments that are collectively understandable in observing what could possibly be going on in the minds of these two children from moment to moment. Hödlmoser’s performance is silent but deadly in all their harmlessness as the companion gifted to Red and Blue by the enigmatic Papa whose voice sounds like something computerized that they would never really know about, adding more depth to the layers of this suspenseful flick.
The true, more gruesome and darkly introspective nature comes as Pal’s actions lead Blue to question Pal’s presence to the point of fear, and indeed making a slew of choices that otherwise result in a series of unfortunate shortfalls that turn Red and Blue’s lifelong home into one of pure nightmare. It’s not long before Red’s hand is forced as well, resulting in a desperate search for answers that bring these two kids to the forefront of a reality that’s slightly sinister, even darker and more harrowing than the shortfalls of a home that stops delivering tapes and replenishing water and food.
The ending falls short of an admirable nod to the average sci-fi or psychological horror fan disquisitive of the possibilities of a film like Home Bodies beyond its 96-minutes run time. It even has my interest piqued in a way that I haven’t felt since watching Upgrade, and should lend to Walker and his team a welcome rally to Fantasia after more than a decade, or anyone into innovative and intriguing genre pieces that test the senses.
Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!
