#housebound 2014

[mythtakens]

Housebound (2014) dir. Gerard Johnstone

[haveyouseenthishorrormovie]

SUMMARY: A would-be thief is remanded to the custody of her estranged mother, who turns out to be correct in her assertion that evil spirits are afoot in their family domicile.

[hannahwatcheshorror]

HOUSEBOUND (2014)

 💁‍♀️Strong Female Lead

A pretty well rounded horror movie! Surprises and turns only from the fact that we are all used to the same sort of story. A neat twist that didn’t make me feel jipped, just excited. It isn’t a revolutionary film, but it’s a good horror movie that feels satisfying to watch and discover the secrets.

⭐⭐⭐⭐.5

Girl is finding freaky stuff in her house, turns out, some dude has been living in the walls and is actually trying to help her and her family. It’s fucky, especially when you want it to be about ghosts but it's scary humans instead. I originally gave it 5 stars on Netflix but, fam, I think I would remember this movie more if it was really worth 5 stars.

[ghostflowerdreams]

Ghosts Films

It’s October! The month in which I watch even more horror movies than usual. Each year I tend to have a theme to help narrow down what to watch. So far I’ve done Zombie Films, Werewolf Films, Vampire Films and Slasher Films. This year’s theme will be the paranormal, specifically Ghosts.

The thing about me is that I’m not really phase by a lot of horror movies. They don’t scare me unless it’s a stupid jump scare which is more of a knee-jerk reaction of something unexpected. But the very few movies that have manage to get to me are those centered around hauntings. Even worst if they’re base on a true story.

I’m pretty excited to dive into this since I’m usually reluctant to watch them in the first place. I’m focusing only on films that I haven’t ever seen before, even if they’ll been out for years. This isn’t in any particular order either.

1408 (2007) -- is an American psychological horror film based on Stephen King's 1999 short story of the same name. It is directed by Mikael Håfström and stars John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson. The film follows Mike Enslin, an author who investigates allegedly haunted houses and rents the titular room 1408 at a New York City hotel. Although skeptical of the paranormal, he is soon trapped in the room where he experiences bizarre events.

It's a simple, but an effective thriller and this horror is definitely more psychological than scary. I enjoyed it and thought it was a neat concept because it does something different than the usual ‘oh, look it’s a scary ghost’ that most horror movies do.

The Innkeepers (2011) -- is an American supernatural horror film written, directed and edited by Ti West. It stars Sara Paxton, Pat Healy, and Kelly McGillis. Its plot follows two employees at the Yankee Pedlar Inn who, during its last weekend of operations, attempt to document the alleged supernatural activity in the building.

It’s fine. I like the atmosphere, but it’s very slow paced and the horror is too low key for me to find it all that scary. It is nice to see a film that isn’t all about gore, special effects, and trying to scare you constantly, but it’s just not for me. Some people may like this. Just beware that there is a few loud-noise jump scares if you’re using headphones or earphones. I really hated it when the audio unexpectedly gets loud enough to cause physical discomfort.

The Canal (2014) -- is an Irish horror film that was directed and written by Ivan Kavanagh. The film stars Rupert Evans as a father investigating a horrific murder that took place in his home in the early 1900s.

It’s okay, nothing groundbreaking though. I liked the pacing and the atmosphere, but I found it very predictable. That’s because there's only so many directions that a horror film like this can go in. Is it an evil entity possession? Mental illness? Is it an actual monster or person behind it?

Even if It’s predictable, if the story is done well enough it should leave you with a sense of dread and goosebumps at not knowing for sure which is it. Unfortunely, this film didn’t invoke any dread, goosebumps or fear in me. It’s just an okay film.

Don’t Listen (2020) -- is also known as Voces is a Spanish supernatural horror film directed by Ángel Gómez Hernández. The movie follows a man who after the inexplicable death of his young son in their new home begins to experience ghostly phenomena, prompting him to seek the help of a paranormal expert.

Well, there’s two reasons I picked this movie. I want to expand my horror palette by watching more foreign movies. And I’m also trying to learn Spanish. I’m happy to report that I was able to understand half of it without relying too much on the English subtitles.

It’s good, but it didn’t scare me. I went into this expecting one thing and it turned out to be something else. That’s not a bad thing. I just don’t know whether to still include this in the list or not. I suppose me saying that is a hint in itself that’s not entire what you think it is..

Also, as a heads up because it caught me off guard. There’s several cats seen dead. You don’t see how it happens, just that they’re all hanging gruesomely from a tree around the 53 minute mark.

We Are Still Here (2015) -- is an American horror film written and directed by Ted Geoghegan and starring Andrew Sensenig and Barbara Crampton as grieving parents who find themselves the focus of an attack by vengeful spirits.

It’s great! The film didn’t waste any time and dive right into the spooks. It’s not scary for me, but it was still fun and entertaining to watch.

Housebound (2014) -- is a New Zealand horror comedy film written, edited, and directed by Gerard Johnstone. It is his feature film directorial debut. The film stars Morgana O'Reilly as a woman sentenced to house arrest in a potentially haunted house.

It’s great! It’s a perfect mixed of horror and comedy. I had fun watching it and would definitely recommend, especially when you want something that’s not so heavy on the horror.

The Devil's Backbone (2001) -- is also known as El Espinazo del Diablo is a Spanish gothic horror film directed by Guillermo del Toro, and written by del Toro, David Muñoz, and Antonio Trashorras. The film is set in Spain, 1939, during the final year of the Spanish Civil War.

After losing his father, 10-year-old Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucia School, which shelters orphans of the Republican militia and politicians, and is taken in by the steely headmistress, Carmen, and the kindly professor, Casares. Soon after his arrival, Carlos has a run-in with the violent caretaker, Jacinto. Gradually, Carlos uncovers the secrets of the school, including the youthful ghost that wanders the grounds.

It’s more sad than frightening. Sure, it’s advertise as a horror movie, but it’s actually a melodrama. There’s still ghost(s), but they’re not the main focus point. I’ve heard that this film is a spiritual companion piece to his Oscar-winning Pan's Labyrinth (2006) and I can see why. 

It shares similar themes and is also set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, a brutal conflict that turned ordinary men into monsters. The Devil’s Backbone is great, but I prefer Pan’s Labyrinth a whole lot more because I feel like it goes to a another level.

The Cellar (2022) -- is an Irish-Belgian supernatural horror film written and directed by Brendan Muldowney and starring Elisha Cuthbert and Eoin Macken. It follows a family whose daughter disappears in the cellar of the large estate they have just moved into.

I enjoyed it! At first I thought it was going be a typical haunted house story with maybe a demonic possession thrown in. But no, it pleasantly surprised me by going in another direction and I wasn’t expecting it at all: cosmic horror.

When it hit that point, it got me so excited and I was like yiss. I wanna know more. Some of my excitement fizzed out when the other layer was revealed, but not enough to ruin the whole thing.

I’m surprised there aren’t more people talking about this movie. So I looked it up and I don’t know why the critics are being so harsh on it with their ratings and reviews. It’s not 2-stars or trash. I’ve seen terrible films and this isn’t it. It’s not perfect. There are some parts that could’ve have been trimmed down, removed or improved upon, but for being filmed during COVID, in which wearing mask, social distancing and quarantine was in full effect, it turned out pretty decent.

Give the film some slack. They made do with the situation, their low-budget and time constraints. Oh, I didn’t find it scary, but I still enjoyed it. It’s not everyday I get surprised with elements of cosmic horror in a film.

His House (2020) -- is an British horror thriller film written and directed by Remi Weekes from a story by Felicity Evans and Toby Venables. It stars Wunmi Mosaku, Sope Dirisu and Matt Smith. The film tells the story of a refugee couple from South Sudan, struggling to adjust to their new life in an English town that has an evil lurking beneath the surface.

It’s definitely not a 'scary' movie by any means, but it effectively uses elements of horror. I still very much enjoyed it! It’s a multi-layered horror film that’s not just about a haunted house. It takes you on an interesting journey about grief, guilt, immigrant experience and the on-going refugee crisis. It’s a really well-done film and with great performances from Mosaku and Dirisu. I would recommend!

The Haunting in Connecticut (2009) -- is an American supernatural horror film produced by Gold Circle Films and directed by Peter Cornwell. The film is alleged to be about Carmen Snedeker and her family, though Ray Garton, author of In a Dark Place: The Story of a True Haunting (1992), has publicly distanced himself from the accuracy of the events he depicted in the book.

The film's story follows the fictional Campbells as they move into a house (a former mortuary) to mitigate the strains of travel on their cancer-stricken son, Matt. The family soon becomes haunted by violent and traumatic events from supernatural forces occupying the house.

Eh, it’s okay. Throughout the entire movie I kept getting the sense that it was familiar. I was drawing a blank, but it wasn’t until halfway into movie that I remembered it.

This is the problem with including older movies onto my watch list and not keeping track of what I’ve seen already. If it's terrible, boring, or doesn’t bring something new to the genre. I will forget it.

Also, this is one of those movies where you have to constantly adjust the volume. I really hate it when the dialogue is super low, so you increase it only for the loud jump scare noise to nearly blast your ears out.

Note: What’s interesting is I went into this thinking I’m going to be scared, only to realize that none of these movies have managed to do so. I don’t know if it’s because I got a higher tolerance to spooky things now or if it’s because I’ve seen everything and it’s hard to be scared of something when you know what’s going to happen next (or can correctly predict it).

[fryesmoviereview]

Housebound - 2014

Morgana O'Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Ross Harper, Cameron Rhodes, Mick Innes

Review: Well, from the reviews of this that I read before I watched the movie, it seems as if I'm in the minority here in not really caring for this movie. They tried something different which I can appreciate, but overall I think it spread itself to thin and didn't really nail any of the things it tried.

The movie is a horror/comedy and starts with a woman named Kylie and her accomplice try to rob an ATM machine, which ends in them being caught, and her being placed under house arrest at her mother's house. We find out as the movie goes on that this house is a hotspot for local tragedy and history. She's assigned a probation officer, as well as a mandated counselor that comes and does sessions with her on a regular basis.

The first part of this is a haunting. We find out that the house use to be part of an asylum and an angry spirit is still hanging around the house because a counselor from the old asylum did something resulting in her death. It turns out the Kylie's probation officer is also an amateur ghost hunter, and they hunt for ghosts. These few scenes are the only ones in the movie that made me laugh, and I enjoyed quite a lot.

I was getting into the story about the haunting, but then it all of a sudden switches and the movie focuses on the fact that there has been a man living in the walls of the house without them knowing.

The fact that they decided to go with a dude living in the walls doesn't make any sense to me. They have a scene in the movie where Kylie's cell phone rings. She is on the second story of the house when the phone starts to ring. She assumes it's in her bag, and searches for it, but the phone ends up being all the way down in the basement. So, you're trying to tell me that she could clearly here her cell phone ring from the second story of the house, to the point where she thinks it's actually in the room with her, but a dude has gone unnoticed living in the walls of the house?

The movie tries to do to much. They have the haunting, the dude living in the walls, and then the end when they do the twist reveal of Kylie's counselor being the one that killed the girl in the asylum back in the day. He then tries to kill them, and chases them around the house. It all comes together in the end, and Kylie wins.

The movie was alright. In my opinion it was mediocre in all of what it tried to take on, and it makes the movie incredibly forgettable. It's also lacking on the comedy parts, and the horror parts.

5.6/10

[allsadnshit]

My co worker showed me how to set up my voicemail box after a decade of not having one and to my surprise an entire decade of voicemails started coming in. I was listening to the ones from 2014 and it was so many missed moments. My step mom trying to call me during my dads first intervention. I thought she just never said anything. A really happy loving voicemail of my old best friend singing he misses me was wanted to hang out. A million voice messages from my nai nai saying she just wanted to touch base. My first coffee manager telling me I got the job. My first art curator asking if I had anything I wanted to sell.

It took me all my energy at work not to have a complete mental breakdown.

I've been talking so much about grief this year because to my surprise, finally feeling safe and finally starting to process a lifetime of stunted emotions has been the most painful and joyful thing I've ever experienced. No one tells you when your mind and body protect you from harm with disassociation that when you finally come out of it, you will be left alone with all your feelings and the moment will have passed. I feel like I've let everyone I ever loved down, especially when I got sick. I feel like everyone watched my become emotionally unavailable and unable to trust, and pulled away with every hard thing that happened to me this last decade and now the truth is I don't have any friends. No one made it through the wreckage, and I am second guessing if I even did now. I stopped being able to eat anything, go out, or even look my loved ones in the eye my last few years in my hometown and then I feel like I acted so rashly and so emotionally manic calling crying after not talking for months and they must have thought I was so unstable and selfish and now I am scared that's a fair description.

I feel like I wasn't myself for a really long time and nothing could get through to me even though I was desperate for connection. Family, friends, relationships all passed me by and I left everyone disappointed and confused while my chronic pain got worse and cycled into violence with my undiagnosed ocd keeping me housebound.

I feel like I am a million miles away by the time I am turning around hearing my name called out, and all I can do is stand there knowing it's an echo by now.

I don't understand why I am so bad at showing people I love them and need them. Even as I unravel it all in therapy, does it even matter when it's too late? I feel inconsolable and like I've never once been able to make the people who mattered to me felt like they did and now I am too scared to try.

So I'm gonna go home and eat dinner

[retourne-toi-eurydice]

i was tagged by @kissingmonsters to list 7 comfort films 🎬 thank youuu!

1.Portrait de la jeune fille en feu (2019, dir. Céline Sciamma) because it's my favourite

2. Housebound (2014, dir. Gerard Johnstone) because cringe personal reason

3. Giselle (2014, Royal Opera House) because i will never, ever tire of it

4. Hot Fuzz (2007, dir. Edgar Wright) because i'm English

5. Alice in Wonderland (2010, dir. Tim Burton) because it changed my life (i was 12)

6. Knives Out (2019, dir. Rian Johnson) because everything you want to happen happens

and finally...

7. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005, dir. Steve Box & Nick Park) because it's just so fucking funny

here are my no-strings-attached 7 tags, if you fancy it!: @gavetheflamingswordaway @a4chocolate @hammerhouse @almost-born-in-1893 @parnagfegg @whizbang-cap (i may have double tagged someone here)

[magz]

Am get the criticism about the "global strikes" being made with "little preparation, little fallback, and not much community-strong effort" -

This one being planned on Twitter by a non-palestinian with even less traction and even more disorganized than previous ones - and Bisan and other regular Palestinians saying to do anything Now Now while crying and dying

But to get what we need to do better, would have had to established and prepared *months* - *years* before the genocide against Palestinians got to this stage again.

Which wasn't the case on a worldwide platform with this fervor, even wider than in 2011 and 2014 when we were a kid n started being aware of this stuff.

So with these criticisms - establish as much as possible and make an effective alternative to these strikes made in desperation. Use your knowledge for benefit of the cause, and apply it so it can do change.

Find people with more influence, your unions, your strike funds and bailout funds, the everything that you are able to identify as a weakness in these attempts and strengthen it.

Use that energy for the cause if you're able to, in a reasonable time frame before the damage is too huge (it's already very awful as-is). And don't let it become just repeating discourse on a dying social media platform.

Am multiply disabled with degenerative conditions. Housebound n at-risk in D.R. (not united states nor canada nor u.k.), don't have a real job, don't have these contacts either. so am acknowledging own limits in "truly contributing" that aspect and irl praxis. Am only doing what am able to, because it's the what can do in any way.

[kurgy]

hey. hey. in WHAT movie is there a guy in the walls who helps them find the killer?????????????

Housebound (2014)

[cipheramnesia]

Hey, I think you're good at posting and smart! I would watch all the horror movies you recommend if I wasn't such a scaredy cat

You should still watch Housebound (2014) because it's incredibly good, very funny, and will make you smile at the end.

[dio-the-thot-exterminator]

Can I have a list of some of your favorite obscure horror movies so I can watch them at some point?

Of course! hehe not sure how obscure these films actually are, but I like them, and people don’t talk about them enough 😞

Housebound (2014) [so fun, so silly!]

Die Säge des Todes (1981)

Ticks (1993) [YEEEAH buggies]

Starry Eyes (2014) [god tier blood, grime, and UNEASE]

The Suckling (1990) [yummy creature design]

Broken (2006)

The Initiation of Sarah (1978)

The Beast Within (1982)

Terror Train (1980) [i like miss jamie <3]

The Premonition (1976)

The Unborn (1991)

Squirm (1976) [more bugs! cute lil worms]

Don't Go In The House (1979)

Satan’s Little Helper (2004)

Prophecy (1979)

We Are What We Are (2013)

Don’t Go Into The Woods (1981)

Graduation Day (1981)

The Incredible Melting Man (1977)

Jason X (2001) [This movie is solid! Everyone’s such a hater 😡]

—

Oh! Then I have some films that are more popular.

The Brood (1979)

Tokyo Gore Police (2008) [mouth watering practical effects!!!]

A Reflection Of Fear (1973)

Trouble Every Day (2001) [This actress man, just WOW]

Repulsion (1965)

Pieces (1982)

Triangle (2009)

—

Now I wouldn't call these obscure but i like them so much, and any chance I get, I will tell people to watch them 🥺🥺

Possession (1981) [One of my favourite movies of all time! The story, the acting, the effects UGH. Gagged me for sure.]

Dead Alive/Braindead (1992) [Honestly up there with Possession. So good but in a completely different way. It’s high camp, high gore, and it felt like i was high while watching it]

Lake Mungo (2008) [A movie that actually scared me while i was watching it, and stuck with me for a good week. Triggered my fight or flight like no other. rawr]

No One Lives (2012) [This would run all the time when I had cable. And I'd sit and watch it every time this came on. There are...certain scenes that are just burned into my mind]

The Cell (2000) [I don’t even know what to say. The visuals in this movie are just SO GOOD. I want to tongue kiss the entire art direction team. The costumes, the cinematography, it’s so creative and so lovely]

—

I have to give a mini shout out to Lucio Fulci, he is my favourite director. Period. If you’re interested in his movies [some focus on zombie, slasher, Giallo] his Gates of Hell Trilogy is always a good start!

—

Ah alright now onto production companies [yay? Woohoooo??]

Troma. Fucking Troma, a lot of the movies they make are gross, stupid and cheap. So if you want something that’s absurd but still strangely entertaining. I’d recommend looking through their catalog of movies, picking a random one and seeing what happens.

Full Moon Features <3 If you want some film series, I’d recommend Puppet Master and Subspecies! [I’ve seen every Subspecies]. Full Moon has a lot of killer doll and toy films. But they do branch out. Castle Freak kinda wild though.

—

Ok i'm done now.

If you have any movie recs for me, send them my way :D

[mythtakens]

Housebound (2014) dir. Gerard Johnstone

[ittakestwopod]

We mentioned our love of New Zealand horror in our latest episode - so here are some of our favourites! (These all at least have comedy elements because kiwis can't make horror without turning it into a horror comedy.)

Loop Track (2023) Dir. Tom Sainsbury A four-day journey turns into a fight for survival. This is a psychological thriller about Ian, who wants to get as far away from humanity as possible, into the New Zealand bush. Some other individuals get attached to him. And he has the feeling that they are being followed. Is that real though? Housebound (2014) Dir. Gerard Johnstone A young woman is forced to return to her childhood home after being placed under house arrest, where she suspects that something evil may be lurking.

The Frighteners (1996) Dir. Peter Jackson After a tragic car accident that kills his wife, a man discovers he can communicate with the dead, and he uses that gift to con people. However, when a demonic spirit appears, he may be the only one who can stop it from killing the living and the dead.

Black Sheep (2006) Dir. Jonathan King An experiment in genetic engineering turns harmless sheep into bloodthirsty killers that terrorize a sprawling New Zealand farm.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014) Dir. Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires who are struggling with the mundane aspects of modern life, like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.

I've added these to a Letterboxd list also

[cultofcreatures]

hiii thanks for rbing my horror recs post! here's your recs! :)

based on the wolf of snow hollow i'd recommend ready or not (2019), what we do in the shadows (2014), the return of the living dead (1985), werewolves within (2021), villains (2019), the final girls (2015), bodies bodies bodies (2022), scare me (2020), an american werewolf in london (1981), housebound (2014), cursed (2005) and harpoon (2019) because they're great fav horror comedies starring quirky chaotic characters. 

based on the platform i’d recommend snowpiercer (2013), cube (1997), parasite (2019), battle royale (2000), us (2019), fresh (2022), the hunt (2020) and the menu (2022) which all contain social commentary about privilege and power. 

based on the night house i'd recommend the lodge (2019), watcher (2022), the invisible man (2020), perfect blue (1997), the haunting (1963), let's scare jessica to death (1971) and resurrection (2022) about women struggling with paranoia and their grip on reality.

based on alien i'd recommend the thing (1982), sunshine (2007), the descent (2005), annihilation (2018), nope (2022), 10 cloverfield lane (2016) and event horizon (1997) because they're some of my fav isolated setting creature horrors.

based on get out i'd recommend the people under the stairs (1991), his house (2020), savageland (2015) and the blackening (2022) for horror with commentary about racial injustice, and black swan (2010), i see you (2019), the wailing (2016) and barbarian (2022) for very twisty gripping horror.

i'm honestly not very familiar with the vaporwave aesthetic/genre but i'd say i saw the tv glow (2024), it follows (2014), cam (2018) and videodrome (1983) have some vaporwave elements!

hope there's some you haven't seen yet! :)

Wow! Thank you for doing this! You really put a lot of work into it! I have seen some of them, and you're spot on with your descriptions! But there are definitely a few that I haven't seen and have added to my watchlist. Thank you so much! I really appreciate it.

[weezeryuri]

3 things:

how do you feel secure in your gender identity? i personally struggle

howd you get into scott pilgrim at first? i started with the comic

whats a song youve liked listening to recently?

first one is a really difficult question because socially transitioning never really happened for me with being a disabled housebound person. i do struggle a lot with dysphoria especially since i am naturally just a petite person and it definitely interferes with my ability to go outside. the voice drop i got from inconsistently taking T is the best thing to ever happen to me and i’d kill to go back on it.

i saw the movie for the first time around 2014-2015 with my dad’s girlfriend’s sons on tv and we played the video game on Xbox together. the art style always stuck with me and I ended up rewatching the movie with a friend group in 2018 which just absolutely sent me down a rabbit hole of gender confusion which led to me reading the comics. got back into it in late 2022 and haven’t looked back since

song 👇

[jdeanmorgan]

31 DAYS OF HORROR FILMS ➛ Day 6: Housebound (2014)