HEART OF THE HOME REVIEW

 

A woman’s life turns into a living nightmare when she takes in a roommate.

Starring: Elisabeth Steen-Nokleberg, Mia Ando, and Yukina Takase

Directed by: David Palmieri

Written by: Sami Sonnesso, and Elisabeth Steen-Nokleberg

  “Heart of the Home” shows the importance of picking the right roommate. With one roommate and friend leaving, Natalie (Elisabeth Steen-Nokleberg) must find a replacement. Kimiko (Yukina Takase), her other roommate, helps her go through an interview process to find a new roommate. In one of the funnier moments, they go through several interesting characters before landing on Miko (Mia Ando). There’s something off about her too, but she’s in need of a place to stay as much as they need someone to take the room.

  Natalie and Kimiko try to be nice to her, and welcome her into the apartment. However, Miko seems to just complain about things, and then hide in her room. As Kimiko spends time away from the apartment, Natalie and Miko quickly grow apart, and Natalie finds herself with a roommate they can’t get rid of. Not only is she a problem for the roommates, but now an unexpected danger for the neighbors in the building as well.

  The audience will quickly figure out where the horror will be coming from once Miko moves in. An awkward set up of a bedroom helps create a creepy moment not long after Miko moves in. After that, some of the horror will be directed at neighbors before the final act. The strength here ends up keeping Miko’s secret a mystery until late in the film. There aren’t many hints, and it turns out being pretty horrific.

   There is a lot of heart in this indie horror film. The set up is there, and so is the horror. Probably the biggest problem is relying too much on dialogue. There are some conversations that aren’t needed, or should have at least been shortened. This would have picked up the pace, and got the audience more engaged in the more important details. With that, I give “Heart of the Home” 2 pools of blood.

  

  HorrO

More about this film at:

http://promotehorror.com/2021/01/08/heart-of-the-home/

http://promotehorror.com/2021/01/30/interview-with-heart-of-the-home-actress-writer-elisabeth-steen-nokleberg/