Retirement homes have long proven fertile ground for some of horror’s most unsettling narratives. Films like Don Coscarelli’s Bubba Ho-Tep and James Ashcroft’s The Rule of Jenny Pen, along with novels such as Iain Reid’s “We Spread” and Philip Fracassi’s forthcoming “The Autumn Springs Retirement Home Massacre,” suggest that the serenity of elder life makes for an especially chilling contrast when horror creeps in. Now, a new entry into this uniquely disturbing subgenre is on the horizon.
The Home, a paranoid psychological shocker from The Purge creator James DeMonaco, is set to be released by Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate on July 25.
The film stars Pete Davidson (Bodies Bodies Bodies, The King of Staten Island), John Glover (In the Mouth of Madness, Gremlins 2: The New Batch), Bruce Altman (Matchstick Men, Running Scared), and Ethan Philips (Critters, The Purge: Election Year). Davidson plays a defiant twentysomething sentenced to community service at a seemingly quiet retirement facility—except for the enigmatic fourth floor, which is strictly off-limits and said to house residents requiring “special care.” As curiosity overtakes caution, he begins to uncover a harrowing secret—one that threatens the lives of the residents and his own.
To celebrate the release of the film, CinemaChords’ Howard Gorman caught up with DeMonaco who reflected on the shift in thematic approach from The Purge, where society indulges in a single day of lawlessness, to The Home, where the protagonist is repeatedly urged to follow the rules. The director also discussed the emotional core of the story: the evolving bond between Davidson’s character and the home’s elderly residents, a connection that both deepens the emotional stakes and complicates the unfolding horror.
