This films plot has been done a million times before but this time there is a twist, the twist however has no effect on the audience or the story because although we were introduced to all these characters, there was not enough exposition to feel like they truly were a family, in that sense it felt very rushed. If the film had taken its time to introduce the characters individually and give a little bit of info on them and about how they gel in this family then yes, the twist would have at least felt a little more shocking.
Also, as this film is rushed and the characters practically marched by barely getting a moment of screen time or a sliver of dialogue, there is no emotional connection to them, when a person dies you are left thinking “Wait, who is he again?” when really it should be taking an emotional toll. The only two characters you feel sympathy for at the start are the two leads, Erin and Crispian, and that is purely because they have the most screen time. Then as the film progresses you find out very quickly that the only one we truly care about is Erin, played by Sharni Vinson, whom it turns out is a bad ass bitch and is fighting and killing the attackers while the rest trip over each other to rush to death.
The writing is absolutely ridiculous and not in a good way, characters make almost brain dead decisions with little to no thought put into them at all which almost immediately becomes frustrating and aggravating. Some of the best parts of home invasion horror films is watching characters act logically or instinctively but none of that instinct or logic occurs to any of the characters except Erin. The fact that Erin is so successful in taking down the intruders stops this from being a horror film, there are no terrifying moments, barely any jump scares, just a lot of gore, so in that regards it is more of a gory thriller which is fine, just don’t set out to make a horror film and have it suddenly become a gory thriller with a slight jolt.
The soundtrack however is absolutely superb, it has a great 80’s vibe to it and really suits the film well, the film could have been set in the 80’s and probably would have been better for it. That way there would be no need for “signal jammers” so the characters can’t call the police, ludicrous.
The film is beautifully shot, especially for a horror film and there are a few tongue in cheek moments for fans of the genre, this is telling that the film was at least directed with great love behind the material and the genre itself it was just let down by the formulaic script and some sub standard acting. It is still worth a watch though just don’t expect to be scared.
6/10
