The 2014 New Zealand film, Housebound, presented a very innovative and amusing combination of comedy and horror. The film’s plot revolves around the family of a troubled Kylie, who has been just placed under house arrest because of a failed ATM-robbing attempt. As she is literally housebound, Kylie struggles with surviving eight months of being stuck at home, while battling her inner (and also external) voices that came to chase her back from her past.

The first half of the film could be considered somewhat of a slow burn, since it focuses on introducing the character relationships and the horror portion of this combined genre. These initial scenes were mostly dark, thrilling, and indeed very scary to non-avid watchers of horror cinematography. The second half of the movie, however, made the experience so much more worth it. The comedic aspects were brought into light as the plot unraveled and the audience discovers that the cause of all the unusual and frightening activity occurring in the house was an actual man living within their walls. This peculiar man, Eugene, despite having a very disturbing (and funny) appearance, did not mean any harm to the family and was just trying to survive within the constraints of his past and antisocial tendencies.

The film’s climax could be considered partially cliché, as the villain turned out to be the psychologist, or the one the audience and characters themselves least expected. The last set of scenes was very gruesome given that violence and blood covered most of the interactions and yet, the comedic elements never really faded and made the repulsiveness of the scenes more bearable. This psychologist-turned-cruel murdered plot twist added more complex ironic elements to the overall message of the story. Everyone considered Kylie to be a very disturbed mind or judged her mother’s superstitions. However, the psychologist who advocated for a clear and peaceful mindset turned out to be the evil, manipulating villain, whose thoughts were both metaphorically and literally blown away.

As someone who does not consider themselves a fan of the horror genre, I found myself fully enjoying this film. The character interactions, constant plot-twists, and comedic elements made it a highly recommendable and very worthwhile experience.