PopHorror Let's Get Scared
James Bamford’s (Elysium 2013) Hard Home stars Simone Kessell (Yellowjackets 2021) as Mary, a grieving mother who is seeking justice for the death of her daughter by a vicious serial killer known only as Diablo (Andrew Howard: Watchmen 2019). The film starts mid-action with a brief pursuit that ends in a twist that kickstarts the events of the movie. Mary’s plan for revenge will lead her daughter’s killer through a smart home trap designed to make him experience the pain and torment that his victims have gone through… and more!
Trying to shake up the standard cat-and-mouse formula, Hard Home smartly chooses to go the direction of incorporating smart home technology as a plausible route for someone to take should they choose to take justice into their own hands. Granted, the entire digital trap set up isn’t likely, although it’s commendable that there appears to have been an effort made to have some basis in realism.
The film plays out as if one were to watch only a highlight reel of Enough (2003) and Panic Room (1999) and throw it in a blender with no additional substance. Hard Home just doesn’t have the wit or charm to hold a candle to any film in its genre. It shares more in common with a network television crime drama than a feature film.
It’s not wrong to want to also compare the film to Saw, but that would imply that any of the “traps” that were set up by Mary could pose as anything more than a minor inconvenience to even the simplest of Girl Scouts. Kevin McCallister, she is not. In fact, each time the killer comes across a new room to survive, he immediately finds a way to circumvent any and all danger.
Repetition is key in the film’s attempt to beat the minimal plot into your head. Get used to hearing, “Diablo!” screamed at you because you will hear it ad nauseum.
Another issue of the tedious nature of the movie is that it squabbles any of the highlights that Hard Home had going for it. Hard to imagine, but even the image of tongues being sliced out of an open mouth becomes a monotonous act as the same clip plays constantly. While repeating sequences is a quick and dirty way to lengthen a film’s runtime, Hard Home takes it so such an extreme that it’s borderline offensive to the viewer to think they can’t go mere minutes without having a reminder of what they had experienced barely moments ago.
In an attempt to pad out the feature’s length, Hard Home contains a sub-plot that has little to no impact on the film whatsoever. If the side plot involving the nosy neighbor and ex-husband wasn’t included, there would be no difference to the film other than it ending 10 minutes sooner. Hard Home could have worked better had it featured only the two leads as they duke it out in the high-tech fortress. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a speedbump in the middle of an abandoned field.
With the heavy flaws of the film, that is not to say there isn’t anything to enjoy here. Once the third act starts, the film finally becomes an enjoyable romp that you can find yourself getting invested in. The killer is finally able to show the viewer why he was supposedly such a violent force to be reckoned with. The ensuing additional chaos causes enjoyment to be had, but unfortunately, it comes a little too late. This makes the idea of what the film could have been nothing more than vaporware.
Hard Home is a hard watch. If you’re a fan of this type of genre, go watch a rerun of Criminal Minds; your time will be better spent than within the disconnected walls of this residence.
