Homecoming (2009)

I had already noted a low rating for this movie on various sites but the subject matter appealed to me as a fan of Misery, Play Misty for Me, Misery et al so I gave it a go expecting nothing of any shock value and was not disappointed on that front. This film had elements of all three of the aforementioned films but had too few pearls stretched out on a decidedly threadbare string.Almost immediately the viewer becomes frustrated at the stupidity of Mike and his girlfriend Elizabeth as they take a trip back to his roots where his "intense" - as Mike describes her - ex-girlfriend, Shelby, runs a bowling alley. After meeting some of Mike's friends, Elizabeth decides she wants to follow them on with Mike to the Bowling alley in spite of being informed about the existence of Shelby. After Shelby plies Elizabeth with tequila whilst playing the amiable ex, Elizabeth, keen to make a good first impression on Mike's parents decides she is too drunk to meet with them that night so Mike's police officer brother drives Elizabeth to a remote hotel and Mike back to his folks. This is where the first major flaw of the plot is seen. Would you seriously drop your young girlfriend off in a hotel car park in a strange and remote area without seeing her safely inside and ensuring she has secured a room? Apparently not as she is left to wheel her case in and wave from the door as her chaperones speed off into the night before being told there are in fact no vacancies and the sign that says otherwise is broken. This leaves Elizabeth to walk four miles West in the dark to locate another hotel until she flags down a passing car which promptly knocks her into a ditch.When she awakens, Elizabeth finds herself in a strange bedroom attached to a drip and being "nursed" by Shelby who is intent on hiding the injured girlfriend away whilst she desperately tries to win back the affections of her ex, Mike. It quickly becomes evident that Shelby is a dangerous psychopath and one wonders why the smart Elizabeth didn't just play along with her games and manipulate Shelby by asserting that she wanted to break up with Mike. A girl of her calibre could have easily cooked up some fictitious and feasible story which would have placated Shelby and ensured Elizabeth's relative safety. This is a common flaw in movies of this ilk. The hostage making ill-planned escape attempts, showing the fear that only feeds the hostage-taker or to the contrary, antagonising their captors and sustaining more injuries for their efforts.The characters were hard to care about in any capacity which is so often the case where teenagers are involved. Predicable diatribe in my opinion, lacking every ounce of substance that Misery brought to the screen.

It starts out quite good, while I'm still trying to stay gullible, asking myself where all this may lead... But soon, the makers of the film must have thought: 'Let's go with some stale old clichés, improbabilities and stupid actions.' I understand it's not easy to try and come up with something original, but this was rather poorly done.On the other hand, I have to admit I don't always mind a simple, predictable thriller. More so if there are some pleasant leading ladies appearing in it.To call this a good film and rate it positive, is yet another thing... 5 out of 10.

Watching this movie, I was reminded of why I love these kinds of movies. They are simple, effective, and most of all, good. And that is what this movie is: Good. Comparisons to Fatal Attraction and Misery can be drawn, but this is its own movie, and that is its brilliance.First off, the story isn't anything new, but it works in the films favor. Basically, guy meets girl, guy dates girl, guy brings girl home to his town for his football jersey retirement, guys psycho ex kidnaps girl, and that's about it. It's simple and dated, but still fun to watch. The reason why I like this film so much, however, is because often times, it feels real. I don't mind violence and gore in movies. I can watch the goriest films ever made and still sleep like a baby. Where Homecoming is different is that its gore and violence is spaced out and simple: rather than excessive blood shed, it tones it down, and when it does occur, it is some of the few moments committed to celluloid that can make me cringe, and that is saying something.the other aspect of the film that makes it work so well is the acting. I'm not Mischa Barton's biggest fan, but she was genuinely creepy and quite gives an unnerving performance. Matt Long makes for a great oblivious boyfriend, and he plays the character well, occasionally adding a light attitude to otherwise quiet scenes of dialog. However, the best performance in the film is Jessica Stroup. Her character is well played, sympathetic, and, most importantly, believable. It also helps that she is quite beautiful, adding a sense of innocence to the character that would have otherwise been absent.The film is not without flaws, but then again, so is every other movie. Despite comparisons that can be made between Homecoming and others, it is well crafted, the performances are well played and the violence is spaced out enough and realistic enough to make even the most conditioned of gore hounds cringe. It is a fine example of a modern thriller, and deserves more praise than it gets.

The successful football player Michael "Mike" Kelvin Donaldson (Matt Long) and his girlfriend Elizabeth Mitchum (Jessica Stroup) leave college to travel to his hometown Mt. Bliss, Pennsylvania, to a ceremony of retirement his high-school jersey and to introduce Elizabeth to his conservative family. They meet Mike's former girlfriend Shelby Mercer (Mischa Barton), who still has a crush on him, in her bowl Alley and her first reaction is to treat Mike as if hewere her boyfriend. When she understands the situation, she surprisingly offers a drink to Elizabeth and has a long chat with her. Elizabeth feels wasted and asks Mike and his cousin Billy Fletcher (Michael Landes) to leave her in the Fort Pitt Motel to spend the night and meet his parents sober to give a good impression in their first encounter. However, there is no vacancy in the place and she decides to walk four miles on the road to a Holyday Inn. Meanwhile Shelby is driving on the same road completely disturbed and accidentally hits Elizabeth; however, instead of taking her to the hospital, she abducts Elizabeth and brings her home. The deranged Shelby plots a scheme simulating that Elizabeth left town to be close to Mike and seduce him again. "Homecoming" is one of those films that is a collection of clichés, with unreasonable and predictable attitudes, and uses the idea of other movies in the story. Actually it is a combination of "Fatal Attraction", with a woman obsessed for a man that loves another woman, and "Misery", with a woman rescuing an injured person and taking her to her remote house. The plot is not totally bad, with the exception of the deceptive conclusion, with the insane Shelby killing Billy but keeping her rival Elizabeth alive. Further, Mischa Barton and Jessica Stroup are talented and extremely gorgeous actresses; therefore it is very pleasant to see them on the screen. This DVD has been recently released by Paris Filmes Distributor in Brazil. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Mente Obsessiva" ("Obsessive Mind")