Homecoming (I) (2009) User Reviews

Wait, Wait... You Say You've Seen This Before?

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 31 July 2009]

IMDb plot says: A jilted ex-girlfriend has a plan in store for her former beau, who is coming back to his small town with a new lover. Gavin says: This is true, if we say he's coming back for one weekend and that her plan is only developed on accident, not ahead of time.

I had a difficult time with "Homecoming". The film is not anything particularly new. Many have compared it to "Misery", and you can see a connection in just about any kidnapping film. So, if you're looking for a whole new plot, you won't find it. You will probably just end up wondering why the kidnapper (Shelby) doesn't kill the girlfriend right away. I mean, if she wants to get back with her ex, it doesn't really help to have his current love tied up in the bedroom. But the difficult time for me wasn't because it was bad -- in fact, the suspense was so well crafted, I kept myself up well past a sensible bed time to catch the end.

Mischa Barton does a fine job as Shelby. Her personal problems aside, Barton is a decent actress. Most people probably know her from "The OC", but since I never saw that show, I know her from a little film called "Walled In" (which, I suppose, was not as good as "Homecoming"). The other actors are also good, but I've already forgotten their names.

Director Morgan J. Freeman (no relation) has an interesting vision. The film is bland in its cinematography, its angles, its use of music, its pace... there's really nothing exciting here. There's the suspense, as I said, and a little bit of gore. But the film doesn't shine as bright as Freeman's "American Psycho 2" (which I loved, I don't care what you say). For the first twenty or so minutes, I thought my boss had sent me a drama to review, and I was somewhat bitter about it.

But yes, the film is decent, and better than many of the films you'll find on the video shelf. I think two other films I caught recently, "Nature's Grave" and "Sick Girl", would be better choices for the horror fans, but if you want a light thriller, this might meet your needs. By no means will it go down as a classic or even all that memorable, but it's worth a view.

A Poor Man's "Misery"

[highpriestess32 · 4/10 · 29 September 2014]

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.

Fatal Attraction with Misery

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 4 March 2010]

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 he

were 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")

Waste of time

[non-shill · 21 January 2010]

This film is not really even worth a review, so I'll make it quick. The movie starts as a total snoozefest. A slow start, boring script, boring dialogue.

We're supposed to believe that Long's and Barton's characters were an item in the recent past. This despite the fact that Long appears to be around 19 years old, while Barton looks to be 6-8 years his senior (which, in real life, she is). Yet we are shown a photo with them frolicking around in high school clothes, with Barton a cheerleader. Wow.

Then the clichés start in earnest. Stroup's character is being held hostage, and makes multiple feeble and idiotic non-attempts at escape. No, don't use the front window to ensure that the psycho who is holding you prisoner is actually gone before you try getting away or using the phone to call for help; just wait for her to go downstairs, and hope for the best. There is even the obligatory scene with an outsider who could help... He's right outside, help at last! Yet all Stroup can manage is to feebly tap on the window. No, don't smash it with that big metal rod in your hand and then scream; just stand there like an idiot.

That's as far as I made it with this joke of a movie. I can't believe Freeman put his name on this garbage.

It's NOT a good movie!

[bfp13108 · 2/10 · 6 April 2016]

Here is what you can expect from Homecoming: 1. Mischa Barton's continued downward slide to oblivion.

2. Mike's (Matt Long) role as the stupidest, witless indifferent boyfriend of all time.

3. Jessica Stroup (Elizabeth) who couldn't escape her way out of a paper bag if she had a knife, scissors and bazooka available to her.

The movie is so preposterous that it needs to move into the sad pervert screenwriter's fantasy script for this year. The plot is so unlikely that you would have thought it came from two junior high school students submission for a screenplay. WHY...why...why are they allowed to make movies like this garbage.

DON'T SPEND YOUR MONEY ON THIS!

Like Fatal attraction but with a hostage.

[Greenzombidog · 6/10 · 9 October 2010]

The star quarterback returns to his hometown for the winter break with his new girlfriend. The problem is his old girlfriend ( Mischa Barton ) seems to have forgotten they split up. The ex claims everything's fine and even befriends the new girlfriend but after accidentally running the new girl down on the road and seriously injuring her things go bad. I was very impressed with the acting in this movie especially Mischa Barton to my surprise. She does a good line in menacing glares and some pretty creepy looks and as you find out just how deep her obsession goes with her ex boyfriend her acting helps to make the character believable. I love these bunny boiler movies and while this doesn't bring to many new ideas to the table, it is still a strong entry in this sub-genre of thriller. There are enough edge of the seat moments when you're willing the characters on and the tension is building to make this film a worthwhile watch. I enjoyed this movie.

Homecoming

[Scarecrow-88 · 4/10 · 10 June 2010]

Shelby didn't accept a break up with high school football star Mike who has since moved on to college at Northwestern and attached himself to another, Elizabeth. She can not and will not believe Mike is no longer the man for her, and in pure FATAL ATTRACTION/PLAY MISTY FOR ME style, goes off the deep end.

Shelby will set out to wreck Mike's relationship with Elizabeth whatever the cost. Mischa Barton has this moment where she quietly fumes and dwells on Mike's truly leaving her in the dust...dragging off a cigarette, the contemplation of losing him yet again is present on her face(it's a good scene I give Barton credit for). Driving home while sobbing, Shelby hits Liz with her vehicle as she was walking the side of the road seeking help from someone because she needed a ride to Mike's mom's house..Shelby got Liz liquored up so she couldn't meet Mike's mom.

Echoes of MISERY as Shelby has Liz in a bed where her sick mother once spent her last years dying, feeding her intravenous tube with a sleeping agent to keep her either sedated or so weakened she can not move(not to mention Liz' ankle is badly damaged)..and when she attempts to due so is often thwarted by her injury.

Letting go is hard to do in Shelby's case and this is like an opportunity which landed right in her lap. Pretty much holding her hostage, mangled ankle and all, Shelby can use this as an advantage to, in her devious state, "win" back the man she adores(more like obsesses about). There's this amusing scene where Liz finds a room which serves as a literal shrine to Mike, with pictures all over the walls, doodles, and heartfelt scribblings devoted to the man she yearns for.

HOMECOMING is one of those movies which allows another actress her chance to play the psychotic, cold-hearted bitch role. There are all these Lifetime Movie clichés to stomach, thriller staples that have wore out their welcome. Such as the evidence, taped underneath the toilet bowl lid no less, where it proves that Shelby poisoned her mother. The revelation that Liz has been kidnapped, discovered by Mike in the knick of time. The numerous near escapes where Liz just about frees herself from Shelby's clutches. The victim who finds Liz bound only to be executed for turning his back on Shelby. How Shelby takes a licking and keeps on ticking, in ridiculous fashion..she takes a shot to the forehead by a ceramic toilet bowl lid, her head slammed up against a wall, and a variety of punches to the face with a football helmet.

And, if you really think about it, the idea that this beautiful young woman who seems to have a degree of intelligence, would have this homicidal love for a boy, even if he's the town's famous football legend, is a bit over the top and hard to swallow. He's this sensitive dreamboat who just has a hard time accepting that Liz would leave him without even confronting him, though Shelby tries her hardest to get him to think so. And, Shelby flaunts in Liz' face how she'll get Mike back while her prisoner must suffer..all of this I've described will be quite familiar to those who watch these movies.

It's really a sister to movies like SWIMFAN about female lunatics who do not respond well when their love is spurned by the young man they worship.

Barton fulfills the requirements of such a role and Stroup is a nice young actress with a pleasant personality, whose Elizabeth doesn't deserve what is happening to her. It all has been done before folks, nothing new to see here. Michael Landes is Mike's cop pal, Billy Fletcher who is used as a tool in the screenplay to potentially talk him into reentering a relationship with Shelby. I do think, as evident by this movie, that Stroup is a star in the making. Matt Long is the young man Barton loves with all her heart. Funniest scene could be when Shelby starts eating a meat sandwich, possibly cut from the body of a victim she had just killed!

it's nothing new and surprising, but it's still a really good movie

[atinder · 7/10 · 13 December 2009]

I will start with the plot. Mike was the star quarterback in a blue-collar small town where football is everything. After receiving a scholarship to Northwestern University, he returns home over Christmas break and everyone is surprised to see him with a new girlfriend, Elizabeth, a pretty rich girl from Chicago. No one is more shocked than Mike's homecoming queen ex-girlfriend, Shelby, who desperately wants Elizabeth out of the picture. After a freak car accident leaves an injured Elizabeth at the mercy of Shelby, all hell breaks loose as Shelby does everything it takes to get Mike back.

A Nice build to the main characters, As we get to know characters and you will care for the characters (Well I did) After the good build up to the characters then the movie really gets going and I was total hooked.

I was actually shouting at the movie, I don't remember the last time I shouted at A movie, thats how much I really enjoyed watching this movie.

This movie has some really good scenes and one nasty scene, (some will think it a total ripoff Misery). This scene made me look away.

The acting was great from Main 3, but office Billy Fletcher (You may know as officer Burke from Final Destination 2) his acting was not that good (and is character was pain in the a*s) also the ending, they tried to go for a shocking ending but it didn't work and it just fell flat.

Also Shelby is one hell of an Evil Bitch (Mischa Barton she did outstanding job on this movie). She was great.

This movie will be compared to Mirsey as this could easily be passed as a sequel or even a remake of it.

6/10

Broken Legs? No Problem.

[rmax304823 · 4/10 · 1 October 2013]

I have to say that I didn't sit all the way through this pastiche of other horror/suspense/drama movies. It borrowed from so many sources -- afternoon soap operas to "Fatal Attraction" -- that I think it did something to my brain. Even now, an hour after I shut it off, it still feels as if there's some kind of insect buzzing around inside my skull. A moth. No, it's too substantial and spasmodic in its behavior for that -- a grasshopper. There it goes again.

Mischa Barton, under the conviction that she and her boyfriend away at college, are still hooked up, is shaken when Matt Lott brings home the beautiful young sensitive Jessica Stroup.

Barton wangles things -- I won't bother to explain how -- so that Stroup gets drunk and is stranded on a deserted highway in the middle of the night. Barton accidentally strikes the lone figure with her car, brings her home, and keeps her in bed, all wrapped in bandages and sedated with an IV drip and vials of potions -- "just things left over from when my mother was sick." Now, I'd been looking forward to some amusing bitchy exchanges and skullduggery but the realization that I was watching a very bad imitation of Stephen King's "Misery" was a downer. I think that any normal person watching Mischa Barton applying some torque to Stroup's broken ankle and hearing the patient screech with pain would immediately long for Kathy Bates with her winning smile and sledgehammer.

I don't know. Watch it if you want. I think you'll be disappointed at this jury rigged drama but you might enjoy it. You aren't likely to be repelled by the acting. None of it is particularly wrong, though the men are nonentities. Mischa Barton has a sensuous and slightly sadistic look built into her features. It's hard to believe this is the same radiant post-adolescent who appeared in, what was it, "Pups"? And Jessica Stroup, beyond being alluring in her own right, projects the just the kind of blind trust the part calls for.

Underrated, and significantly better than everyone else says

[liam_donnaz · 6/10 · 6 September 2013]

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.

sorry misery ripoff

[husker666 · 3/10 · 23 November 2013]

I tried so hard to like this film because it was on netflix and they don't get very good movies on there. The plot was obviously derivative which I can forgive because most modern films usually are. The acting was of a reasonably good standard for a low budget film but the dialog was abysmal and the plot followed such a standard trajectory that each scene became more obvious than the last. Where I gave up was in the bathroom scene, A woman who you know is going to try to kill you, and you just give her a knock on the head. Love B movies and indie flicks but this was poor! I know when I think a film is bad when I give it the 5 minute test i.e. I will give it another 5 minutes then it's off. It lasted 50 minutes but only just!

Nothing New. But fun and exciting anyway!

[taralynhuber · 8/10 · 16 February 2021]

You've seen this premise a million times. Crazy Firl or Crazy Guy wants someone, they are obsessed, someone else is in the way. So if someone else is in the way what should they do?! That's where the fun and craziness begins. I personally love this movie because Mischa Barton is a very under rated actress. She plays crazy really really well. Btw this was a lifetime movie ... for whatever reason it is hard to find now. If you find it, watch it.

Homecomings Were Quite Never Like This ***

[edwagreen · 7/10 · 4 October 2009]

When seeing this film, I immediately thought of Kathy Bates' Oscar winning performance in holding James Caan hostage in "Misery."

A young freshman accompanying her boyfriend back for a weekend homecoming gets much more than she bargained for when she is held captive by his vicious ex-girlfriend.

The movie becomes a cat and mouse affair where the victim frantically tries to get away from her tormentor. Obviously, this is met without success.

The ending could have been better. After getting a tremendous thumping from her helmet, when she is rescued by her boyfriend, the film appears to end only to have the demon waking up. Lord knows what else is in store. In addition, our fiend, Shelby, shot the policeman cousin of her lover when he discovered her escapade. Was he shot dead or just wounded? That's never clearly explained.

For die hard Mischa Barton fans only.

[terry_betts · 4/10 · 3 October 2010]

We've seen it all before nicely sums up "Homecoming." Plot, characters, twists and turns (Such as they are) are all strictly out of the stock Hollywood thriller handbook.

The stock plot revolves around small town football star Michael (Matt Long) coming home to see his High School jersey retired with new girlfriend Elizabeth (A very cute Jessica Stroup) in tow ostensibly so she can get to know his old friends and meet his parents. Unfortunately for Mike and especially unfortunate for Elizabeth, Mike's old flame from his high school days, Shelby (Mischa Barton) is still in town and still believes he carries a torch for her as she so obviously does for him. When she discovers her old love has a new lover and is no longer interested in her she's devastated.

Shortly Elizabeth falls into Shelby's clutches and becomes her prisoner as Shelby hatches a plot to make her rival miserable while trying to win back her old boyfriend.

Virtually every cliché in the "desperate to escape" victim playbook is used and most are presented only half-heartedly at best. Eventually all the players come together for the clichéd ending and anyone who's surprised by how it all plays out has never seen a modern Hollywood thriller or has an IQ lower than Forrest Gump himself.

There are plot holes galore and the story requires otherwise intelligent characters to act stupid or at least do stupid things no one in such real life situations ever would. Elizabeth is presented with several obvious methods of escape or at least chances to alert other people to her predicament but passes up the most fundamental means at her disposal simply so the writers can extent her pain and suffering and make the movie last the requisite hour and half viewing time. (One obvious case is when a loan officer comes to visit Shelby at her house and when he leaves a supposedly desperate Elizabeth can only meekly tap at the window to try and gain his attention when she has over a dozen devices around her in the room she could easily use to smash the glass and alert him to her presence.) Certain plot points never add up and simply become distractions as the movie plods along. Although Elizabeth is supposed to be the love of Mike's life he and his policeman cousin Billy (Michael Landes) accept Elizabeth's disappearance fairly casually. At first Mike acts extremely upset at her apparent last minute ditching of him on the eve of her finally meeting his parents, yet never goes beyond a few vain attempts to call her for an explanation. Mike's parents never seem to upset at possibly never meeting the woman that might be their future daughter in-law and no one else in town ever seems to ask Mike about his girlfriend's absence.

Elizabeth discovers evidence Shelby poisoned her mother yet Shelby's motives for doing so are never explained. She seems to have only inherited a tremendous amount of debt from her mother's death as both the business and house she left behind are near foreclosure. At one point while trying to affect an escape, Elizabeth smashes Shelby in the face with a porcelain toilet tank lid only to have Shelby quickly cover up the damage in the next scene with a light touch of make up. No one even asks her about her head injury throughout the rest of the movie! And why a character so obviously demented as Shelby went unnoticed all her life in such a closed, rural small town, especially by her long time boyfriend, is beyond explanation.

The biggest plot hole of all is why Shelby keeps her rival alive at all especially when her homicidal tendencies become evident half-way through the film.

I could go on but you get the idea.

Mischa Barton, for all her off screen real life escapades, is turning in to a very competent actress. She's really the only reason to sit through this thing to the bitter, hackneyed end. She's obviously about 4 points better looking than anyone else in the film and another plot hole is why anyone so attractive would have such a hard time finding a decent replacement for an old high school boyfriend in the first place.

If you really want to see a good, tightly scripted thriller about an innocent victim held prisoner by a psychopath rent the much better "Misery." You'll get Kathy Bates instead of the fetching Mischa Barton but you won't regret the time you spent watching it either.

It has Mischa Barton and Jessica Stroup in it...

[punishmentpark · 5/10 · 26 December 2013]

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.

To be entirely fair, it could have been a lot worse

[liam_donnaz · 6/10 · 19 June 2018]

Look let's be honest, this movie is nothing special. It's at best an alright misery rip off and at worse a brundlefly of better movies. However, I honestly can't hate it. Like okay it's not my favourite movie by a long shot (though I'd be lying if I said I really like Jessica Stroup in anything.......except prom night and iron fist but more on those later) but it's at least acknowledging of how derivative it is. Mischa Barton is ridiculous but still kinda creepy, the boyfriend is pretty likeable if a bit too naive at times, there's some moments in it that make me genuinely flinch every time I see them (that ankle break is pretty brutal). So yeah, it's shameless in deriding from better movies but come on, you knew that going in. It's cliched, silly and at a few points just plain weird, but if you can switch your brain off for a bit, it's not bad.

-

[blackshooter-63065 · 1/10 · 5 May 2020]

I turned it off immediately. The acting was very weak, the story is very boring, you don't have to look at it. 1/10 *

A homecoming you'd rather stay away from

[sol-kay · 6/10 · 23 May 2011]

***SPOILERS*** Things aren't all that blissful in the little working and blue collar town of Mt. Bliss when the high school star football running back Matt Long, Mike Donaldson, came back for his long awaited homecoming to have his football jersey #7 permanently retired. Expecting to renew her relationship with the handsome & hulking Matt is his old high school flame Shelby Mercer, Micha Barton, who's in for the surprise of her life in finding that Matt is in love and planning to marry Elizabeth,or Liz, Mitchum, Jessica Stroup! Gtting good and drunk at the homecoming festivities Liz decides to chill out at a local motel before she meets Matt's parents. This decision on her part was to change both her and Shelby's lives forever!

On the highway looking for a place to stay for the night Liz is run down by a very disturbed and not watching the road Shelby who realizing her good fortune takes the very banged up Liz home to recuperate! What Shelby really has in mind is to somehow make Liz disappear, by poisoning her, and thus end up having Matt all to herself! The only problem is that Liz is not all that accommodating to Shelby's plans and does everything to escape! Which ends up with Shelby doing her best to off Liz even before the poison,that she's spiking her her medication with, kicks in!

With Selby now in control of the situation she plans to trick Matt into thinking that Liz walked out on him but he doesn't fall for her act until he gets positive proof that Liz in fact two timed him. From that point on Shalby starts to lose it in overplaying her hand like getting Matt drunk and try to have it on with him, in a bar ladies room no less, that has him suspect that she in fact had something to do with Liz's sudden disappearance!

***SPOILERS*** The film comes down to the big homecoming party where Matt finally realized in a present that Liz gave him, that he thought was Shelby's, that has him bolting in sub-zero weather with nothing but his shirt & tie on to Shelby's place and find out what in fact she did to Liz and if Liz is being kept there against her will. Shelby by now has completely gone off her rocker murdering Matt and her friend Sheriff Billy Fletcher, Michael Landes, for asking too many embarrassing questions and trying to fix the light in her basement where a tied up Liz is being held.

Tremendous end of movie cat fight between the badly injured Liz and the crazed and homicidal Shelby as a kneecapped Matt, whom Shelby shot, is helpless to stop and is just a bystander in the whole spectacular event!***MAJOR SPOILER*** typical psycho movie ending that you saw coming from as far as 10 miles away that doesn't surprise you but at the same time take anything away about the what you've seen in the film up until then!

Flawed 'Misery'-esque thriller with reversed gender

[kannibalcorpsegrinder · 5/10 · 29 October 2012]

When they arrive at his home town for a big celebration, a man's girlfriend is captured by his psychotic ex and tortured for stealing him away from her while he and his friends race to save her before it's too late.

This one here is a rather curious thriller rather than an out-and-out horror effort. One of the main issues with this one is the really bland pacing, which has the abduction placed oddly later in the film than it should because it deals with the useless extraneous moments in the film where she's dealing with outside issues that have nothing to do with the main torture scenes. The majority of the scenes consist of either her attempting to get away only to be stopped without any kind of true punishment offered only to repeat the process again or his friends telling him to get on with his life, and it manages to plod along lifelessly instead of generating any interest. Rather than doing any kind of physical, damaging torture, it features only knock-outs or drugging and carries on in a series of lame parts that give off a thriller feel more than a true horror film, and the painful, agonizing moments of her trying to win him back or pining over a rejection don't help this one much. The finale does have some pretty decent moments, including the clever discovery of the kidnapping, some brutal confrontations down in the basement and a rousing conclusion, but it's all too claustrophobic and confining to really get where it could've gone. This is just too flawed and has too little right about it to really be of any importance.

Rated R: Language and Violence.

Fun flick

[rosswilcock1 · 7/10 · 12 August 2022]

I've always really enjoyed this film to be honest. I understand though, the bad reviews it's not for everyone but I do really like it and think for the cheesy, campy watch it's worth it. It does have its moments of suspense for sure.

7.5/10 No doubt. Worth for watch once.

[karsandip · 10/10 · 25 July 2022]

Just got trired of hollywood recent times Woke-activist films. It's good to watch some actual "American" films without any of "Woke" sh*t in it. Well it had a box office success ; a little but good for $9M against a $1.5M investment.

Not horribly bad.

[hunterjpetrick · 6/10 · 15 August 2019]

I'm hesitant to give this a 6, but I'll let it roll anyways. This is a typical slasher/hostage film with a psycho ex-girlfriend. Mostly everything is predictable. The most annoying part is how laxed the brother of the main character is, considering he's a cop. The main character's girlfriend is missing for half the movie and the cop doesn't want to open an investigation because: "chill bro, I'm sure she's out there". Like another review I read somewhere here, the "heroes" of this film truly are clueless. Wasn't a horrible film, wasn't great either. I'd check it out if you're bored.

Falls down a big deep dark hole

[jasonpauljones-64690 · 2/10 · 29 November 2022]

Starts out well enough, and i was looking forward to seeing Mischa Barton for the first time and she looks so much like a cross between likeables Kirsten Dunst and Jessica Rothe, but unfortunately Homecoming does not bring home the goods, only a heap of rubble. The production and direction are both terribly handled and really just dumped a lot of crap onto the actors to try and salvage what they could from what was afforded them. Barton tries hard and there are glimpses of talent, as well the supports manage flickers of hope but at the end of the day, their earnest efforts are not enough to save this from sliding down the dumbwaiter.

Nope

[BandSAboutMovies · 3/10 · 11 December 2022]

Directed by Morgan J. Freeman (American Psycho 2) and written by Katie L. Fetting, Jake Goldberger and Frank Hannah, this Pittsburgh-filmed movie features scenes at Shady Side Academy, North Allegheny High School, a community center in Midway and a farm in Bell Township. It starts strong with Mischa Barton driving and crying and just running right through someone.

She plays Shelby, who has just inherited a bowling alley when her mother dies and can barely pay for it. Her old boyfriend Mike (Matt Long) is coming home as they're retiring his jersey and he's brought his new girlfriend Elizabeth (Jessica Stroup) with him but as far as Shelby cares, Mike still loves her. Yet Shelby pulls that move where she befriends her enemy and starts to lead her down some dark - and drunken - paths.

That's when this movie goes back to the beginning and we learn that Shelby has cosplayed Misery, using a car to do the damage, and has taken Elizabeth captive inside her house. Well, she does double Misery by slicing her Achille's tendons to pieces later. This would be kind of fun if the movie leaned into the obsessive ex genre and make it over the top and fun, but it never gets there or goes there.

Homecoming is smart enough for a Pittsburgh-shot film to use Bingo O'Malley but doesn't get the area at all, as at one point, Shelby pours Mike an iced tea. He'd just have a carton or jug of Turners if this was a legitimate Pittsburgh movie that truly understands the liquid landscape of our town.

"I Want You To Start Appreciating My Hospitality!"...

[azathothpwiggins · 29 September 2021]

After anxiously awaiting her boyfriend Mike's (Matt Long) return home from college, Shelby (Mischa Barton) is dismayed to see that he's brought his new girlfriend Elizabeth (Jessica Stroup) along with him.

Mike says that he broke up with Shelby months ago. She disagrees with him, but seems to accept the idea... at first. It's not long before her true feelings emerge, causing her to get drunk and "accidentally" hit old Liz with her car.

Oops!

Luckily, she survives with only a broken ankle. So, Shelby, feeling great concern for her welfare, decides to nurse her back to health, even if it kills her! Indeed, Shelby will be whatshername's caregiver. This starts by "setting" that ankle.

HOMECOMING is a movie about obsession, jealousy, and madness. Ms. Barton channels Cathy Bates in her unhinged role.

This is a very good entry in the psychological thriller genre...