DREAM HOME: Gore and Decor

Last night, I was given a screener of DREAM HOME by fellow Coolidge midnite movie programmer Jesse Hassinger. He and I had been having discussions recently regarding to what extent we should be playing new films for the Coolidge @fter midite screenings. I wasn’t convinced that any of this recent horror coming from distributors like Magnolia and IFC Midnight could blow audiences away like a MANIAC, an EVIL DEAD, or any other classic splatter film could. I was wrong…

Director Ho-Cheung Pang has crafted a gorgeous and effective slasher film with DREAM HOME. The opening minutes of the film provide both an eye-widening glimpse of the economic conditions people are facing in modern Hong Kong, as well as a kill that had me climbing up the wall trying to escape its brutality. This opening scene, I might add, is the tamest of the film.

The story centers around Sheung (Josie Ho), a young woman who has faced many a hardship in her life. All she wants, is an apartment with a view of the ocean, like her grandfather always hoped for. Sheung has a sick father, has seen her childhood friends evicted by vicious thugs, works a slew of jobs, has a dooshy boyfriend, a younger brother in her care, and she has seen her mother and grandparents die before getting up to a standard of living that is ideal. Her money never seems to be enough to move, and her family life only gets darker. The social and economic pressures seem too much for Sheung to overcome.

All of this drives her to murder when a deal to purchase her dream apartment falls through. What follows is the most vicious killing spree I’ve seen on film since Alexandre Aja’s HIGH TENSION. We’re talking scenes that will make the most hardened horror aficionados turn their heads. One murder in particular was so harsh that I doubted that I could enjoy the remainder of the film! The shuffled order in which the narrative is told caused me to be disgusted in the beginning when the crimes were seemingly senseless. But, as the story unfolded, (the motive is being told through flashbacks while the carnage unsues) I became more comfortable with her crimes. The directer has complete control over this story structure. Never does it feel forced, or are you shown anything you don’t need to see. The film un-fogs itself like a bathroom mirror, slowly but surely, to clarity.

The majority of the gore effects are practical in this film, and they are out of this world. This is the type of unnaturally good special effect work that makes you wonder why CG is used at all in horror. There are one or two instances of digital work and they are fine; though unnecessary. Nothing can match the imperfect perfection of the practical make-up. There is a bit of chaos to the gore that causes it to be reminiscent of work form the likes of Tom Savini and Rob Bottin. The final act of the film, if we were watching a fireworks display, is a blood-spatterd grand finale.

I can’t wait to see this one with an audience.