Housebound

There's a lot to like here; a protagonist that's not afraid to get shit done, a few successful scares and misdirects, a fun supporting cast and a good sense of humor. While horror and comedy rarely mix well, Housebound functions as that cool barkeeper that says 'trust me, I got this' and makes something neat from a bunch of ingredients that goes down smoothly. At least that's what I think barkeepers do. I haven't left the house in years.

Opening: Out of Sight. Setup: Disturbia. Accents: Bad Taste. Conclusion: Blades of Glory. One of those might be wrong, I was pretty tired.

Although it has some similarities to the recent spate of horror comedies (Shaun of the Dead and Dead Alive come to mind), it also brought up memories of classic dark humor films like Arsenic and Old Lace. An absolute madcap fun time. I'm still not exactly sure how they managed to pull off so many plot twists, but it definitely was aided by the straight-forward, realistic way they used the story and the characters. Smash it in the face, indeed.

For some inexplicable reason, New Zealand is some kind of Shangri-La for horror/comedy. "Housebound" has the perfect blend of scares, thrills, laughs, and pure fun. I can't commend this movie enough. I'd even watch it a second time, and that's not faint praise from me.

Tough and brassy, acid tongued screw-up Kylie is one of the most fun and engaging characters to grace the horror genre in recent years. As a horror heroine, she is a wonderful rare breed due to her ballsy, aggressive and active nature. Housebound is a scarce horror-comedy hybrid success that smartly delivers suspense, mystery, thrills and laughs without ever being too corny or immature. A distinctly fresh, playful, deadpan New Zealand flavor with great characters and casting.

I can only imagine the moment when this film's plot device dawned on the writers. Like when that guy clapped his hands at the same time as a power outage and came up with the idea of the Clapper. Or when that guy pushed his grandmother down the stairs and on the way down she knocked over the phone and accidentally hit the speed dial for 911, giving him the idea for Med-alert. Housebound has no Clappers or Med-alerts, but it does have witty black humor, a clever story, and an exploding head.

This was a really cool, fun New Zealand horror/comedy. The screenplay was actually pretty great, with good story structure and some clever twists. It was directed really well, too, apart from some overly-obvious jump scares, and some minor pacing issues. What I liked most about it though was the classic New Zealand deadpan style of humour, which I really respond to. I absolutely recommend giving this a go.

Really surprised this was not a hit. While there are a few illogical contrivances (especially w/ the bizarre ways Eugene "reveals" himself - wtf is he doing?), the anti-authority protagonist should've appealed to the younger crowds that usually love horror & the suspense here is all done exceedingly well (even though the music's heavily designed to jump scare). It's got funny moments too, but maybe horror fans prefer their horror straight? Either way, this was an unexpected surprise. Recommended

A damn good straightforward haunted-house flick that ends up being so much more. It's hard to explain what makes it so unique without spoiling. The cinematography and lighting are consistently brilliant.

"*sigh* You can't punch ectoplasm". Surprisingly good horror/comedy (stress on comedy) film that seems to have come out of nowhere. Johnstone is a novice director who plays horror genre conventions like a seasoned pro. The tense scenes are very involving and when you catch the drift of this film, you start waiting eagerly for the darkly comic relief that is sure to follow. Not to say it is a predictable film - plot twists and misdirections are well placed. Funny, likable characters, too. See it!

This was quite a surprise. Very funny. This film keeps becoming other movies and keeps you on your toes.

An incredibly dry horror-comedy that blends the two genres better than a vast majority of comparable films. Scenes vacillate back and forth, with some flat-out scares acting as simultaneous visual jokes. Sadly, it's still not particularly funny or scary, and it's limited by a terribly standard haunted house premise, but fun character interactions make up for some of the many shortcomings. It's not an unreasonable way to spend an hour or two, at the very least.

A nice surprise.

Really gripping throughout, the movie is constantly changing what it is while still having a cohesive narrative. Refreshing.

Wow talk about going off the rails. Way too many stories and nonsensical twists. The action scenes are great.

It's not trying to be funny but it is. A pleasant surprise.

Entertaining anti-horror that ditches the supernatural for laffs and is a little too long.

A solid comedy haunted house story from New Zealand. The humour is dark and played mostly deadpan; just the way I like it.

Funny and smart.

Very slow start, but it won me over in the end with some consistent humor and surprisingly effective tension. Wonderful cast.

Clever but not without tense moments. Primarily a comedy with some great lines. Hilarious action sequence that manages to use household items effectively. The horror aspect hits some high points in the middle. Good blend.

Housebound is actually a decent thriller that plays with both horror and comedic tropes to deliver a film that is in a similar vein to Hot Fuzz, with a Kiwi twist. The cast, none of whom I've heard off before, were great. The plot is fairly standard, with the build-up (and reveal) being more interesting that the action-packed resolution in the last 10 minutes. Johnstone screenplay, script and direction make the film a solid and enjoyable watch.

Really enjoyed this. More of a goofy coming of age comedy than a horror film but to say any more would ruin the fun.

A refreshingly original horror-comedy. One of the few films of this type that successfully balances laughs, thrills, and scares (think Shaun of the Dead). Highly recommended.

Don't let the first 20 of minutes make you feel that this is some lousy drama - go through it and you will be rewarded by purely awesome balance of horror and comedy.

Though still fairly well done, the film becomes more conventional/generic, even predictable, as it goes along. Some might experience that as something like a relief, I suspect, but I for one was a bit disappointed.

Another wonderful NZ comedy-horror after last year's brilliant 'What We Do in the Shadows'. Filled with typical NZ dry-as-kindling humour, a refreshingly surly, sullen lead protagonist, and Rima Te Wiata who every single Kiwi will relate to. We all have a Mum/aunt/neighbor just like that.

It's not very often that I enjoy a horror movie with a haunted house but was a pleasure to watch and has a great payoff. Tons of dark humor is mixed in, and I found myself belly laughing several times, especially near the end. The writing is inspired and the acting is convincing. I quite appreaciated the lack of hokey supernatural computer graphic nonsense and finding that the entire story is firmly grounded in reality. A terrific twist on good and evil characters. Some gore, but great fun.

extremely dry dark humor, loved that. the story twists in fascinating ways. the cast is excellent, the tension is good. only one all out OH SHI scare early on before it changed gears into more of a thriller, but still that's just fine. it could have been shorter.

A little slow in the beginning but quirky fun.

And that folks, is how you do horror-comedy! I absolutely loved the deadpan humor and the plot surprised me more than once. The cast was brilliantly chosen and all in all, I enjoyed this much more than I expected to. I want more of this!

Unexpectedly crazy wonderful horror flick.

It started really well, with clever ideas and a great lead character, but the script broke down in the third act. A real shame, because it had an ambitious premise and high production values for a budget of less than $250 000.

Actually funny rather than just wry or witty. A must watch for anyone familiar, and appreciative of, the New Zealand horror comedies.

Rewelacja. Dawno tak dobrze nie bawilem sie przed telewizorem. Swietne dialogi i humor sytuacyjny. Na poprawe nastroju rzecz warta zaaplikowania.

Genuinely funny movie disguised as horror.

Almost as good as Shaun of the Dead; fun, quirky, scary, exciting... great performances

It's got a warmth to the setting and characters, but it never become suspenseful or horrorful.

Overrated

Utterly brilliant. Plenty of twists and loads of visual humor.

ev hapsi (disturbia), lanetli oldugu sanilan ev, eski evde islanmis cinayet, duvarlar arasinda yasayan adam (eugine), anne- kiz, polis memuru, kamera, takma dis (birinin agzindan uyurken takma disini almaya calismak), catida mücadele (finalde), absürt

the final 20 minutes of this movie are my favorite final 20 minutes of any movie I've seen in 2020.

What a turd of a movie. This is a comedy horror that is neither funny nor scary nor horrific -unless you count what a horrid person the main character is. I thought at first maybe I just don't "get" NZ humor, but "What We Do In The Shadows" is my favorite comedy of the last few years, so that wasn't the problem. I wish it'd turned into a gorefest where we eventually see the main character taken out in as gruesome of a way as possible.

It's one of those "stick around long enough" type of films, and I thought I wouldn't laugh as much but hot damn. Despite the humor being saved for the latter half, it was still thoroughly enjoyable

Creative and original, but oh so tiring. I felt drained when all was said and done.

This movie has a lot going for it, namely an excellent female protagonist that upends the usual genre conventions and genuine humor rather than self-awareness or dryness passed off as wit. Horror purists be warned: it ditches scares for thrills pretty early on and never looks back, a reflection of a fast-paced plot that's more interested in staying fun than adhering to genre conventions. Refreshingly original, this enjoyable and surprisingly warm movie adds up to more than the sum of its parts

The last third of this movie kind of sucked, but Kylie was a super fun protagonist to watch.

7- recommended, good

Basically "Braindead" without zombies and gore, but maybe that's just the NZ accents. But hey, I don't just love "Braindead" for the zombies and gore.