Homecoming 

A hotshot White House speech writer deals with the publicity nightmare of his life when recently deceased soldiers return from beyond the grave.

Director:

Joe Dante

Writers:

Mick Garris (creator), Sam Hamm (teleplay)

Stars:

Thea Gill, Jon Tenney, Terry David Mulligan

1 win.

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Thea Gill	...	Jane Cleaver
Jon Tenney	...	David Murch
Terry David Mulligan	...	Marty Clark
Beverley Breuer	...	Janet Hofstadter
Robert Picardo	...	Kurt Rand
Dexter Bell	...	Marine Guard #1
Jason Diablo	...	Marine Guard #2
Karen Elizabeth Austin	...	Mom (as Karen Austin)
Daniel Wesley	...	Bobby Earl Beeler
Penelope Park	...	Registrar (as Penelope Corrin)
J. Winston Carroll	...	Rev. Clayton Poole (as J.W. Carroll)
Wanda Cannon	...	Kathy Hobart
Nathaniel DeVeaux	...	Mr. Baker
Candus Churchill	...	Mrs. Baker
Jason Emanuel	...	Michael

Storyline

During the campaign for the reelection of the President of USA, the political consultant David Murch wishes live in a television talk show that a deceased soldier could come back from his grave to vote in the election as a marketing to promote his candidate. The president uses his idea in a speech and wishes that all the deceased soldiers could return from their graves for the election. Somehow his wish is granted and the soldiers died in the last war returns with the objective of voting in the opposition to the government. When the result of the election is manipulated and the president is reelected, all the soldiers deceased in pointless wars return to exile the members of the administration of the government.

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Plot Keywords:

younger version of character | soldier | election | voting | political consultant | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 December 2005 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

IDT Entertainment, Industry Entertainment, Nice Guy Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

WILHELM SCREAM: Used twice - A zombie gets blasted with a shotgun, and a zombie gets dragged by a car.

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Goofs

Philip Murch's tombstone lists his rank as Lance Corporal. When he returns from the dead, he showing wearing an Army uniform. Lance Corporal is strictly a rank in the Marine Corps.

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Connections

References I Walked with a Zombie (1943)

User Reviews

Sam's Ham, Dante's Peak

For about 3 years of George W. Bush's first term in office, you couldn't find a liberal angrier (but also lazier) than Yours Truly. Like so many others, I was disenchanted with the reckless abandon by which the country was being steered toward catastrophe (endless war, endless spying, the erosion of civil liberties); and, like so many others, I thought John Kerry was our knight in shining armor, a Vietnam Vet who could do no wrong (or so we wanted to believe--hell, anyone would have been better than Bush, right?). In the 2004 elections, both sides (sorry, Ralph) were convinced their guy was The One, which led to a suspenseful November 2nd that ended in a fizzle. Not long after, this once-hardcore liberal packed his bags and moved to apathy.

Which brings me to 'Homecoming,' Joe Dante's brazenly opportunistic entry in the "Masters of Horror" anthology series. America is involved in an anonymous war that has come under scrutiny by liberals and the general public during an election year; when campaign adviser John Tenney wishes for a grieving mother's felled son to return, he quite literally wakes the dead. Returned home in flag-draped caskets, the dead rise--not for tasty human flesh, not for a trip to the mall, but to vote against the administration that put them in harm's way for a lie.

In the supplements, Dante makes no secret of his disdain for the current administration, and indeed, some of the characters in 'Homecoming' barely stray from CNN--Karl Rove, Ann Coulter, Katherine Harris, and Cindy Sheehan all get fictional counterparts.

While sporadically engrossing (including a few effectively tender moments) and humorous, the sledgehammer-obvious satire 'Homecoming' hinges on comes off as forced and ultimately unfulfilling. With material like this, timing is everything (Michael Moore knew to release "Fahrenheit 9/11" before the 2004 elections), and the real tragedy of Dante's film is that it didn't come out 2 years ago, when its message would have carried an energy that would have energized the dissidents further. In 2006, mockery of the well-settled Bush Administration hardly seems as controversially compelling (or imperiled) as it did then.

'Homecoming' shouldn't be faulted for any of this, but it doesn't necessarily help the episode, which is well-executed in concept. Decent production values, fine performances, and a few chuckles at the expense of the media and far-right Holy Rollers helps, and Dante keeps things moving at a reasonable pace (though the third act seems to rush through things due to time constraints).

It's just...too...unfortunate, damn it.