FOUND FOOTAGE REVIEW: The Household

TL;DR: Meh – Sorta Recommended (for die-hards)

Man, if half of the documentaries that are made were as interesting as the doomed ones in found footage movies, well, I mean, we’d just have more murder burger docs about true crime. Maybe it’s for the best they are all doomed.

DOOMED!

Wrapping a found footage film in the robes of a documentary is a great cheat, though, to be honest. In making the film focused on being a documentary, or attempted documentary, you have an excuse for filming, can add more cinematic shots, can use toys like drones, and can even add music.

Brilliant.

There are pitfalls though, as the end product begs the question of how the film was finished and put together. Ah, well, it’s fine, that’s for the killers to worry over, right?

THE HOUSEHOLD is the story of a documentary. After a series of local disappearances which have taken on a place of near myth status, a young couple begin making a documentary on them, The disappearances are connected to rumors of murder, rituals, and a possible plot to hide the truth of what really happened. As the two filmmakers delve into the details of these disappearances they are warned not to dig too deeply, that there will be consequences. The two brush these warnings off at first, but as strange things start happening, and the police suddenly take an interest in them, the wisest thing is to let the mystery, and the movie go. The director refuses to let things go, insisting that everything happening is a coincidence, but what he may soon learn is that some urban myths are true.

This is a frustrating movie, to say the least.

It’s got an interesting story, start to really unravel a fascinating mystery, but it’s held back by a main character that’s just shy of insufferable. At every turn he refuses to acknowledge what is happening to he and his partner, and won’t do things to safeguard them. Even as things reach the point of exaggerated trouble, the character shrugs it off.

Then there is the issue of a very long trail of breadcrumbs that never reach anywhere. Oh, you can figure out what’s happening, mostly, but we needed more. They needed some big reveal, but instead, we just have a dun-dun-duuuuun sort of ending. It’s interesting, but feels a bit corny.

I love that the movie is about adults, deals with people who aren’t often the lead characters, and is Australian, which is fun. There is a lot to like, but the main character, and the refusal to really come through with any answers is just aggravating. It’s hard to overlook that.

There is also the bridge that’s hard to cross that is – how the crap was the documentary ‘finished’?

This is a bucket with a lot of holes, and as fun as it is, it just doesn’t hold water.

It’s interesting, and for slappies like me, it’s worth a look.

Otherwise, it’s another in a long line of found footage movies that just can’t land the plane.

Meh.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt29412940/

2.5 out of 5