Homebodies

source: Homebodies

I saw this little gem decades ago, when I was a child, on WOR-TV in NYC, and it unnerved me, becoming one of those.films that stayed with me for decades, like Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things, Lemora, Race With the Devil and Deathdream. It unnerved me chiefly because, like many movies from the 70s, it was bleak, that people died in grisly and were never found again (something about dying alone with only your killer for company struck a chord in my young soul), that bad guys committed crimes and got away with it. It took 40+ years for me to work up the courage to see it again. This time, I could bring with me a lifetime of experience, and eyes and spirit that are closer in age to the principal characters in this movie: elderly folk who have lived in the same place for decades, being forced out of their tenement building to uncertain accommodations and uncertain futures, and resorting to sabotage and murder to delay the inevitable. Our cast take their collective acting chops and you fully beleive that they have been fixed in the same place for years on end, have no desire to change their routine. I can more properly appreciate the black humour behind many of the set pieces, as well as the tragedy of it all. The tragedy is that despite their efforts, despite the murders committed of people (none of whom really deserve their fates), they're only delaying the inevitable. And they know it, they see it; yes, the construction crews might take a day off to attend the funerals of their dead co-workers, but they're back on again. Yes, the city official trying to relocate them is stabbed and thrown onto a passing train, but the wrecking ball still arrives to knock down the buildings. And yes, the asshole condemning their home to build his luxury tower may get himself buried alive in the cement of his own building, but the company is still running. But the elderly, so bound by their memories and their routines and their fear and inability toa dapt at their age, know that they'll eventually have to go. Do I think they were right to take these actions? Absolutely not. But, finding myself approaching retirement age, I can eat least be empathetic to them.

source: Homebodies

I saw this movie when I was about 8 and it gave me a serious case of the heebeejeebies. So much so that here, over 20 years later, I still remember it. Its horror value isn't based on a lot of gore, or startles, but just plain creepy situations. It's worth renting, although it will probably seem pretty tame by today's standards.

Rewarding dose of moribund drollery has unscrupulous property developers evicting the elderly tenants of an apartment building, soon to be razed and replaced by more financially viable structures. When attempts to halt the project are met with staunch indifference, individuals involved with the building's imminent demolition are brutally murdered one-by-one in a variety of grisly ways. Good performances from a likable cast, and an off-kilter, deliciously morbid premise make HOMEBODIES a natural-born cult gem which should be an especially pleasant diversion for fans of HAROLD AND MAUDE, EATING RAOUL, and similar titles culled from the strange realm of diabolically humorous cinema. 6.5/10

Six feisty old folks -- blind Peter Brocco, hard-working superintendent Ian Wolfe and his nagging wife Ruth McDermott, kindly writer William Hansen, agoraphobic eccentric Frances Fuller and fierce, formidable old battle ax Paula Trueman -- refuse to leave their crumbling tenement building despite the fact that it's going to be demolished to make way for expensive high-rise apartment complexes. The extremely loyal, hidebound and resourceful over-the-hill group resort to murder so they can remain in their beloved brownstone, bumping off a condescending young woman social worker, a greedy jerk land developer and various hapless construction workers who are victims of random fatal "accidents." Director/co-writer Larry Yust, who also helmed the bang-up funky blaxploitation blast "Trick Baby," fashions this absorbingly off-kilter plot into a delightfully quirky and deadpan black comic horror oddity, skillfully alternating between shocking moments of brutal violence and inspired bits of uproarious wackiness in a deft, screwy, throwaway style which proves to be both amusingly nutty and occasionally quite unnerving in comparable measure. The murder set pieces are truly jolting and the climactic poky last reel paddle boat chase sequence is nothing short of brilliant. Better still, Yust shows a genuine warmth and compassion for the elderly, scoring points for his incisive critique of our society's gross disregard for senior citizens and how said elderly are among those luckless and powerless people who often don't benefit a bit from progress and urban renewal. Brocco, Wolfe, McDermott, Hansen, Fuller and especially the marvelously sassy and sprightly Trueman (who was also great as Sondra Locke's redoubtable granny in "The Outlaw Josey Wales") all give lively, colorful, thoroughly engaging and touchingly dignified performances as the shrewd, lethal, lovably stubborn and indomitable geriatric protagonists. Beautifully photographed in the rundown Cincinnati slums by Isidore Mankofsky, this splendidly singular and whimsical fright film tale of inner city blight and the resilience of the elderly rates as a definite fabulously off-beat and original must-see sleeper.

Looking for something different? Then look no further! HOMEBODIES is an absolute gem of a film that has unfortunately become difficult to find over the years. In fact, it's been released on a home viewing format in the States just one time - in 1984 - by Embassy Home Entertainment. Now that the tape is 25-years-old, I think it's about time someone rescued this one from complete obscurity and put it out on DVD already. Why we need a dozen special edition reissues of films like "Friday the 13th Part 20" and a great film like this is able to slip through the cracks is something I'll never quite understand. In Cincinnati, Ohio, a construction company is busy at work erecting a huge skyscraper. Across the street, the city has condemned a block of tenement buildings. One by one, the buildings are being demolished after its elderly citizens are dragged from the comfort of their homes to live in some colorless, sanitized new apartment home against their wishes. However, the tenants of one of the buildings set to be torn down are not going down without a fight. This is, after all, their home we're talking about. They've been living there 30 years. And since no one seems to care about them and their welfare, why should they return the favor? Mattie (Paula Trueman), who spends her days sitting by the construction site munching on prunes, witnesses a fatal accident and then conspires with her friends to rig similar accidents to delay the destruction of their home. One thing leads to another and before long they're resorting to stabbing a cold social worker and burying a wealthy land developer alive in wet cement! One could accuse the film of being far-fetched, but most dark comedies are, and the film manages to skillfully blend social drama, horror and black comedy together in an entertaining, thought-provoking and unique way. One of the big pluses here is that the plight of the low-income elderly is shown in a grim, though very realistic and plausible, light. These people ARE often bullied, pushed around and treated if they don't matter, so despite their murderous schemes, there's never a moment where we don't identify with, and sympathize for, the people involved. Another huge plus is the cast and level of characterization. Many genre filmmakers mistakenly believe the target audience for these films only want to see hot young things strutting their stuff, not a bunch of senior citizens. They're wrong. Here we get six veteran character actors capable of adding those intangibles to their roles that only come with experience. Trueman as the spunky, unpredictable and increasingly more unstable Mattie seems to be the centerpiece of the film and she does an excellent job. Just as good are Ian Wolfe as the building superintendent, Ruth McDevitt as his wife (also the conscience of the group), William Hansen as a widowed writer, blind Peter Brocco and Frances Fuller as a wig-wearing agoraphobic who still talks to her dead husband and hasn't left the building in 20 years. Each of the performers bring a human element to their role, and the characters aren't just tenants. They're created their own little microcosm in the building and each depend on one another in equal measure to simply get by. To disrupt their environment is to destroy their lives, so why should they care if a bunch of greedy big wigs or whoever else go down with them? Co-stars Douglas Fowley, Linda Marsh and veteran horror/sci-fi star Kenneth Tobey as the construction boss also deliver fine performances in less-sympathetic roles. Quirky, unique, thoughtful, very well-written, directed and acted on a modest budget; this independently-produced film is probably not going to be for all tastes, but for fans of both horror flicks and black comedies, I can't recommend this one enough. It's worth the search.

This is an entertaining pitch black comedy about a group of elderly folks who decide to fight back against their evictions by killing anyone who gets in their way. Naturally, one of them starts to feel guilty and the group slowly turns on itself. This reminds me of that one segment from TALES FROM THE CRYPT (1972) where the old folks home tenants turn on their cruel administrator and is definitely something you wouldn't see made today. This is the anti-COCOON. All of the acting is very good with Paula Trueman being the stand out as the slightly more unhinged one of the bunch. Director Larry Yust (TRICK BABY) really puts these old folks through some paces too, making them run up stairs, fight and use paddle boats. Yust also makes Cincinnati look like a total hellhole. Seriously, the sections they filmed in look just as bad as the Bronx circa those Italian post-apocalypse flicks. Look for Kenneth Tobey in a small role as a construction foreman.

I saw this on HBO back when they were only on from 5P to 2A (This is 1976 for those of you too young to remember). It has some bad acting, and the content was dark, to say the least, but it had some really good points. Firstly the soundtrack was great, featuring the tile song "In Sachet" and secondly, a wonderful actor by the name of Ian Wolfe, who if you ever saw him, you would remember him from one of his umpteen TV appearances. (He started acting in his mid-50's and continued until he was 94 years old in the Warren Beatty powered 'Dick Tracy') The cement-pouring scene is worth the price of renting it, if you can find it. I could not locate it to rent on the major internet DVD rental site. (Don't want to break any IMDB rules). If you do find it, check it out. You'll think twice about sticking your aged loved ones in a retirement home.... I guarantee it... :)

I watched this movie with my grandmother when I was about 6 years old. The movie was PG, so I could get away with watching it then. What a hoot! We managed to watch that movie every time we could catch it on and the last line in the movie kept us laughing for the longest: It's me, Mattie. I know that a movie about old folks killing to keep their homes may be totally horrific to today's society that salivates over brutality performed on perky-breast blonds, pencil-waist brunettes, and their associated blockhead boyfriends. The irony of "Homebodies" is that you're force to have to acknowledge those old folks for what they were doing -- whether you liked it or not. They refused to be pushed around and their tactics were crude, yet effective. Having said that, I watched it again recently and I found it just as funny, but with a better understanding. While I could say that the murders were truly without warrant, they were in better context than what you see in most slasher flicks nowadays, where the killings are for shock value and good measure.