In a violent and horrific car crash, his father has perished while his mother has survived. The film premiered at the South by Southwest international film festival and was theatrically released on October 14, 2016. There isnt a weak link in the bunch, save for maybe Louis Hunter as Jacks flirtatious neighbor Duncan, who seems think he isacting in a soap opera. After his father is killed in a car crash, Jack travels home to Colorado to help nurse his mother (who was injured in the crash) back to health. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. [SXSW Review] You May Not Like What You See When 'Jack Goes Home He returns to his home in Denver, Colorado to care for his mother as she recuperates from the traumatic incident. Theres a lot of mirroring, from blatant similarities between new neighbor Duncan (Louis Hunter) and an as yet unknown figure of the past, to Jacks impending fatherhoods hopes and fears aligning with his dads at the time of his own birth. Review: Jack Goes Home - Slant Magazine A look at the Jack Goes Home behind-the-scenes crew and production team. Jack Goes Home is a breakdown you can't quite grasp, despite some genre merits that certainly embrace the dark. Jack Goes Home is a 2016 American independent horror film written and directed by Thomas Dekker and starring Rory Culkin, Daveigh Chase, Nikki Reed, Britt Robertson, Lin Shaye, Natasha Lyonne, Louis Hunter, and Serge Levin. In its better moments, like the scenes that pit Jack against his mother in increasingly hysterical confrontations, Jack Goes Home suggests the fever-pitched outlandishness of 1970s horror films like Alice, Sweet Alice and The Baby, but more often Dekker resorts to talky, rhythm-less dialogue scenes filmed in bland, undifferentiated close-ups. Writer-director Thomas Dekkers Jack Goes Home turns one familys dark, twisted past into an invisible monster, haunting the mind of a grief-stricken young man. There are large chunks of dialogue throughout particularly between Jack and Shanda and Jack and his mother that take heavily analytical and philosophical stances on death, love, and loss. One mans pretension is often anothers profundity, after all. Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls / U.S.A. (Director, Screenwriter, and Producer: Andrew Bowser, Producers: Clark Baker, Michael Mobley, Olivia Taylor Dudley) Onyx joins a group of fellow occultists to attend a dark ritual at the mansion of their idol, Bartok. Andrew Hawkins is a producer and publicist known for Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary, Jan Svankmajers INSECT, and Athanor: The Alchemical Furnace. Polite Society / U.K. (Director and Screenwriter: Nida Manzoor, Producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Olivier Kaempfer, John Pocock) Aspiring martial artist Ria Khan believes she must save her older sister, Lena, from her impending marriage. Jack Thurlowe receives news that his father has been decapitated in a car crash. Mami Wata / Nigeria (Director and Screenwriter: C.J. Run Rabbit Run / Australia (Director: Daina Reid, Screenwriter: Hannah Kent, Producers: Sarah Shaw, Anna McLeish) As a fertility doctor, Sarah has a firm understanding of the cycle of life. Without delving any further into the story, lest I ruin it all, I will say that Jack Goes Home is a type of film that comes off slow at first, but as the movie progresses, it starts becoming more and more interesting. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Plot summary After his father is killed in a car crash, Jack travels home to Colorado to help nurse his mother (who was injured in the crash) back to health. Cast: Sarah Snook, Lily LaTorre, Damon Herriman, Greta Scacchi. As he slowly begins to uncover truths about himselfin the process, Jacks world and sanity areturned upside down in the most nightmarish ways. He clashes with his mother repeatedly and has painful exchanges with friends and his pregnant fianc each time he is forced to interact. Home embracesthe prodigal son, if only to help console and care for Teresa during what should be a time of need but Jack is the one who seems to be unraveling. In the 2012 film "Jack Reacher," a horrible crime is committed in Pittsburgh: five people are coldly executed by a sniper. He is cursed by his past, and it takes a dark sinister turn when Jack finds a message from his late father, containing a clue that leads him on a mind bending scavenger hunt. He has a nightmare in which he sees Jack getting angry at Cory and lashing out. As the story progresses and the insanity crescendos with monsters crawling and hands reaching out of shadows, we become disoriented enough to buy it all as reality or fiction, depending on where Dekker decides to go. The tone shifts when Jack finds a message from his late father, containing a clue that leads him on a soul-shattering scavenger hunt. Jack Goes Home (2016) - Plot Summary - IMDb The review for today! Experimentation and tasty little bites of ferocious suburban horror provide gasps of fresh air amidst a film that stumbles over its own story, meaning that Dekkers vision is certainly thrilling just haplessly plotted about. Upon returning, he is greeted by his temperamental mother, Teresa (Shaye, Insidious); his childhood best friend, Shanda (Chase, The Ring); and mysterious neighbor Duncan (Louis Hunter, The Secret Circle). He imbues Jack with just enough endearing qualities that you will find yourself easily empathizing with his plight, The problem is that after a certain point in the filmJack becomes an unreliable narrator, and many viewers may find it difficult to connect with a lead character that they cannot trust. During his stay at home, he uncovers long buried secrets and lies within his family history, his parents, his friends and his very identity. The story here is so clearly born ofan artistic mind facedwith the harsh reality of grief and attempting to make sense of it; needless to say, it is impressive to see a director so brazenly put much of his own experience especially one of such a traumatic nature into awork like this. The scriptwill be especially frustrating for thosewho do not have much patience for a dreary cinematic experience that focuseson the tedium of tragedy. Culkin is hypnotizing as the fragile, but biting protagonist, solidifying himself as a unique genre talent that commands attention in such emotionally engrossing roles. Jack Goes Home is a 2016 American independent horror film written and directed by Thomas Dekker and starring Rory Culkin, Daveigh Chase, Nikki Reed, Britt Robertson, Lin Shaye, Natasha Lyonne, Louis Hunter, and Serge Levin. Rory Culkin holds his own leading the film and the supporting cast does great work as well. Id wager to say probably not, though Im not sure it matters either way for Dekker at this point;Jack Goes Homefeels like the result of an artist who has wrestled violently with his demons, only to see them finally exorcised in a very public way. This may be the intent since it is supposed to be a journey into the mind of a mentally disturbed man, but it doesnt feel intentional and the film grows tedious quickly. Lister, Breeda Wool. After Jack learns that his father has died in a car crash, he travels back home to stay with his mother, Teresa (Lin Shaye), as she recovers from injuries suffered in the same accident. MIDNIGHT: From horror and comedy to works that defy genre classification, these films will keep you wide awake, even at the most arduous hour. Robertson is a non-factor for most the film, whereas Lin Shaye turns in another fun genre role as Jacks tormenting mother but Culkindraws attention in every scene. Available online. So far the actor has appeared in plenty of films over the last 20 plus years, but he hasnt gotten nearly the recognition he deserves. There were 13 other movies released on the same date, including Desierto, Max Steel and The Accountant. When Jack tells his fiancee that his father is dead, its understandable for Jack to not emote as he is in shock,but his fiancees reaction to the news was borderline unsympathetic. MUSIC NEWS: VOODOO TERROR TRIBE to Release New Alb NEWS: Official trailer for "60 Second To Die" now NEWS: ITHACA FANTASTIK ANNOUNCES FULL RETROSPECTIV my thoughts on. Herschell Gordon Lewis, October Toys of Terror features SLASH CARDS. Nothing is left to the imagination. Cast: Sophie Wilde, Miranda Otto, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Zoe Terakes, Otis Dhanji. A still from My Animal by Jacqueline Castel, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Give this one a chance and I think youll like it. That being said, understanding that Dekker wrote the film about his depression following his fathers death in 2010 helps to put the film in a better context: this is Dekkers depressed state of mind represented on film. The Day of the Triffids Amazon Studios Miniseries in the Works, Wreck Review Infectious Horror-Comedy Series from Hulu Isnt Quite What You Think, Children of the Corn Review Eleventh Entry Pleads a Strong Case to Let the Franchise Die, We Have a Ghost Review Gateway Horror Adventure Uses Ghostly Charms to Capture Family Bonds, Cocaine Bear Review A Raucously Entertaining and Gory Horror-Comedy, The Strays Review Netflixs Social Thriller Feels Like an Incomplete Experience, Six-String Samurai The Glorious Madness of a Dadpocalypse Epic You Maybe Havent Seen, Beyond Godzilla: Six OTHER Kaiju Movies You Need to Watch, Resident Evil 4 PREVIEW Impressions from Our Hands-Off Sneak Peek at the Upcoming Remake, 5 Deep Cut Horror Movies to Seek Out in March 2023. There, he uncovers long-buried secrets and lies within his family history, his parents, his friends and his very identity. Fiction. Its just text. Priya Kansara appears in Polite Society by Nida Manzoor, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. It's directed by Lars von Trier whose prior films include the Nymphomaniac movies and Melancholia. Its not clear exactly who is really alive and if he is even himself by the end of his journey to find answers. World Premiere. Jack Thurlowe (Rory Culkin) is a successful magazine editor with a beautiful fiance Cleo (Britt Robertson) who is seven months pregnant with their first child. Still, kudos to him for making a movie that risks being unpleasant. Suspecting Bartoks nefarious intentions, Onyx is suddenly immersed in a world of monsters, mystery, and mayhem. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Fiction. Article "'Jack Goes Home' Thriller Spirals Into Madness", by Jonathan Barkan, "Bloody Disgusting", August 24, 2016, Article "Rory Culkin's Life Becomes A Nightmare in Trailer for 'Jack Goes Home'", by Clark Collis, "Entertainment Weekly", August 25, 2016, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jack_Goes_Home&oldid=1107841227, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 September 2022, at 05:23. Fiction. Jack is a troubled character with a sharp, cynical wit and a tortured soul. His mother reacts violently when he addresses that she doesnt seem to be affected by the loss, and soon his world begins to unravel as secrets are revealed. Some of the weird things that Jack sees end up unexplained and used only to elicit scares from the audience. Creepercast: my thoughts on. 'Jack Goes Home' - Blogger The film premiered at the South by Southwest international film festival and was theatrically released on October 14, 2016. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an commission. There probably are some people that will enjoy Jack Goes Home, Im just not one of them. Lily LaTorre appears in Run Rabbit Run by Daina Reid, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival.