HOME SWEET HOME: Where Evil Lives (2023)

Home Sweet Home: Wo das Böse wohnt

3 stars

Blue Finch Film Releasing. Digital platforms. Out Now

A creepy chiller from Germany. Heavily pregnant Maria (Nilam Farooq) is moving into the remote family home of her fiancé Viktor (David Kross), to start to sort things out, as there are plans to open it as a B&B. She is alone there, as hubby-to-be is at work.

As night falls Maria starts to hear noises. Searching around she discovers a hidden room where she uncovers photos and other stuff that points to a dark family secret… a secret which will ultimately endanger her life.

Directed by Thomas Sieben from his own script, this is one of those movies which has been shot in one take (or made to look as it was) – for no other discernible reason than ‘because they can’. As it is, it’s one of the better ones using this contrivance, though nothing really happens during the first half of the movie than her wandering around, being on her phone and the occasional quite effective scare, and it is obvious where this heading. Farooq is good in the central role and at capturing the fear she faces.

Steve Kirkham