Rating: B
Dir: Gerard Johnstone
Star: Morgana O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Ross Harper
I went into this knowing not much about it. But New Zealand around this time was putting out its share of interesting genre movies, most obviously What We Do in the Shadows, from the same year. That was enough to get this onto my watch list, from where it took long enough to surface, I’d forgotten the details. And it is a small gem, a quirky take somewhere between a ghost story and a home invasion movie. Yet not really either. It begins with the arrest of young delinquent Kylie Bucknell (O’Reilly) after an ill-considered attempt to rob an ATM. She’s sentenced to nine months house arrest, living with her mom, Miriam (Te Wiata).
This is not fun for mother or daughter, to the extent it seems like it might qualify as cruel and unusual punishment for both of them. Matters are not helped by Miriam’s insistence that the family home is haunted. She saw a mysterious, sheet-like figure in the basement years ago, something in which Kylie doesn’t put any credence. Then, when she is down in the same cellar, someone – or something – grabs her ankle. Fortunately, the officer monitoring her ankle bracelet, Amos (Waru), is a bit of a paranormal expert, and Kylie begins digging into the murky history of the family home. Turns out, it was the site of a brutal, unsolved murder, and Kylie suspects their creepy loner neighbour of being the perpetrator.
There’s more. Lots more. The above barely takes you to the half-way point, if that. By the end you’ll look back at the beginning, and perhaps wonder how you got here from there. Apart from the nicely inventive script, which keeps the twists coming until the end, the movie’s major strength is likely the character arc for Kylie. Initially, she seems a nasty piece of work, particularly to her poor mother: “A bit cunty” might have been Chris’s terse assessment. However, you gradually begin to see her merits, in addition to her faults. Some of these need to be brought out. For example, she tries to leave, and is only prevented by Amos talking her out of it. Kylie’s still no angel – and that works in her long-term likeability.
The way things unfold keep the need for effects restrained, and what there are, are generally up to the task. There’s a marvellous sequence involving a murderous Teddy Ruxpin (top), which is about as close as this gets to horror-comedy. I kept wondering if it was going to skew further that way, yet Johnstone keeps things generally serious, or at least bone-dry in terms of humour, e.g. “You cannot punch ectoplasm.” You could perhaps argue it runs somewhat long, and earlier tightening up might be of benefit. However, it provides proof positive that a limited location – probably ninety percent of proceedings takes place inside the house – is no barrier to entertainment, in the right hands. It’s only a surprise it took Johnstone eight years to direct another film, M3GAN.