Slow and uneven
There’s something inherently fascinating about the downfall of humanity. We’ve had a number of different stories tackle this idea, dating all the way back to the 1800’s up to present day. When it comes to media like TV shows and movies, a lot tend to gloss over the “pre and current” phase of the downfall, rushing straight into the post-apocalyptic vibe of a world destroyed and the small pockets of humanity scrambling to try and rebuild what they’ve lost.
Whether it be a zombie juggernaut like The Walking Dead, or Stephen King’s masterful epic The Stand, there’s undoubtedly a lot to choose from in this field. In terms of fiction that follows the slow, gradual downfall of humanity, there are a few to choose from. The novels On the beach, Luicfer’s Hammer and The Last Policeman are solid choices, while you could also point to the harrowing drama Threads on BBC as another good choice.
The point I’m trying to make here is that this is an incredibly crowded field, so if you’re gunning to be the new kid on the block, you need to do something to stand out from the pack. This brings us along nicely to the new apocalyptic thriller, Homestead.
Homestead isn’t an entirely new concept, and is based on the Black Autumn books, written by Jeff Kirkham and Jason Ross. The premise is simple and this movies wastes absolutely zero time getting to the crux of the drama.
An attack rocks America to its core. An explosion off the coast of Southern California sends the country into panic mode. It could potentially be nuclear, and reports of blackouts soon trickle through the entire east coast and other regions of the US, leading to phone lines down and electrics shut off.
Caught in the middle of all this drama are several different families, all messily jumbled into the movie’s chaotic (but undoubtedly gripping) opening 20 minutes or so.
First up we have Evie and her kids, Molly and Theo, who pack up their things and head out to the Rockies, hoping that the patriarch, Malcolm, makes it there too.
Their destination happens to be a homestead, owned by Jenna and Ian Ross. Ian is probably the best prepared out of anyone, given he’s a billionaire with a lavish house out in the countryside, away from a ravenous urban population and with plenty of food to see them through. However, he’s also incredibly naïve too.
Step forward special forces commando, Jeff Eriksson. Between an estranged relationship with his son Abe, Jeff finds himself prepping for everything turning south quickly in the wake of this apocalypse. He’s a realist through and through, and he packs up his gear and heads for the homestead with wife Tara, and kids Leif, Georgie and, of course, Abe himself.
As everyone joins together at the Homestead, the drama screeches to a grinding halt, playing out as a character drama rather than an action-packed thriller, but closer in tone and feel to an extended pilot episode of a TV show than actually fleshing any of these people out in a meaningful way. There’s a ripple of religion and faith throughout the movie too, gluing everything together, along with teasing glimpses of dissent and tension, but it’s all wrapped up with a cheesy and rushed conclusion that doesn’t really give any conclusive answers to anything.
I understand the idea here is to get more people interested in the upcoming TV show, but it does feel a bit cynical to promote this as a stand-alone film, entice people to pay their hard-earned money for an apocalyptic romp, and then be left with a “The End… is only the beginning” flash up on screen. In reality, this is just chapter 1 of a larger project. That’s not to say what’s here is bad, but on its own, it’s hard not to come away feeling a bit empty and disappointed.
It’s not helped either by the pacing of this thing, which is unwieldy and surprisingly uneven. The first 20 minutes are a rip-roaring, tense, nail-biting affair and you’ll genuinely find yourself gripped by every twist and turn. As the sky turns to an angry shade of red, and the camera pans across our characters’ faces, you really get the sense that this is going to be a gripping thriller.
Alas, those moments soon flicker away and instead, we get slow, ponderous drama at the homestead. The trouble is, once we get there the drama we do get doesn’t have much in the way of long-lasting effects. Say what you will about the second season of Walking Dead, that series had a ton of drama, thanks to the ongoing conflict between Shane and Rick.
In Homestead, there’s an ongoing issue involving refugees outside the gates which – while kinda resolved toward the end – feels more like a fairy-tale wish fulfilment than a genuine way to handle this sort of situation. We know how quickly people can descend into a scared, angry mob, and in fact the film even shows us this early on with a scene outside a shop with two people fighting over toilet paper. However, this by-line isn’t followed through with, instead erring on the side of believing faith will win out in the end.
Sure, it’s an admirable theme but in a film that’s trying so desperately to be grounded in reality, this feels like a strange inclusion given how people would react in this scenario. It also completely undermines Jeff’s character too, who spends most of the movie trying to straighten out Ian and get him prepped for things turning south. Sure, that could still happen in the show but judging this movie on its own, where we get a training scene with the guys using guns out in the woods to prepare, there are so many redundant threads that just aren’t followed through.
In terms of the script we do get, the character drama feels unsatisfying and never really expands beyond superficial plot points. We don’t get a meaningful bond between Jeff and Abe, despite the film setting this up early on, while we also get a hurried romance thrown in as a way for Abe to deal with the effects of PTSD.
The tension between Ian and Jenna quickly dissipates after a dramatic incident by the gates, while there’s unresolved issues between Evie and Malcolm by the end too. The special forces have their own problems, with ongoing tensions surrounding who should really be running the homestead and dissent in the forces. It’s all good stuff but it’s never followed through or resolved in a meaningful way.
Finally, we have a weird, kinda-supernatural element thrown in with Georgie Eriksson. She appears to have the gift of foresight, having drawn things before they happen – including the explosion. It feels quite similar to NBC’s Manifest for the religious connotations and premonitions, but the film never quite knows what to do with this. So instead it waits until the very end before throwing in a “here’s what coming up” with her.
While the initial idea behind Homestead is good, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. There’s a distinct lack of urgency, with long stretches of the run-time setting up unresolved character drama. Slow doesn’t always mean directionless, but Homestead doesn’t make a great case for knowing where it’s going, given it all feels designed to serve as an appetizer for the TV show.
It’s not a bad movie, but similarly, it’s not one I’d recommend spending money on to see in the theatres in its current state. For a streaming pilot, this is pretty good but without a proper conclusion to all of this, it’s hard to gauge how well this one’s going to handle the source material moving forward. Unfortunately, Homestead is, in its current state, a slow, ponderous lesson in mediocrity.
Feel free to check out more of our movie reviews here!
-
Verdict - 5/10
5/10