Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: THE HOME [SXSW Film 2025 - Austin, Texas]
The aspect of an assisted living home can always conjure textures of darkness simply because it can be seen as cold, or unraveling, to certain people because it is a step towards the last aspect of life. "The Home" [Midnighter], a Swedish film by Mattias J. Skoglund is based on a book concerning a darkness overtaking such a home. It is fed by the life of one woman Monika (Anki Lidén) who seems to be haunted by her dead husband who seems like he was less than cordial to her in his final years. For reasons of plot, one of her sons Joel (Philip Oros) whom she likely considers not the successful one (he is a metal musician) returns to the small town he grew up in to get her situated in an assisted living facility. He runs into old acquaintances and he himself starts to himself see visions. One of his older friends is now a worker at the home and tries to oversee Monika but in many ways, However, the possession involving Monica and some others seems to overtake the texture of their lives .
The issue never quite gets into if it was a result of abuse or something else. It seems more based in the fact that Monika was dead for a few minutes when she had a stroke and something came back with her from the other side. Some of the freak out scenes with Monika (especially with an arm breaking scene) are visceral but when it moves towards the end, the ending is confusing in many ways since it is not clear which way the evil goes. That point doesn't need to be abundantly clear but it does need to make a little more sense. While the ending is effective, the conflict leading up to it in the final moments is not. This could be corrected likely and simply by a re-edit of the ending scene. What Joel loses and what he gains is uncertain but it is palpable to a point. "The Home" tries to offer scares but the essence of loss, though inferred is never quite achieved. This also has to do with certain acting choices but nonetheless, "The Home" doesn't quite achieve what it is looking for. C
By Tim Wassberg
