Pete Davidson Gets Deadly Serious in James DeMonaco’s ‘The Home,’ Where Aging Is the Ultimate Terror

Alci Rengifo

In another era the films of James DeMonaco would play at B-movie theaters or be on drive-in double bills. They have a grindhouse energy rooted in the simple pleasures of scares and hidden allegories. Are these “great” films in the sense of award-seeking opuses? Not at all and while you can make many critiques of their construction, DeMonaco always has something to say. His latest, “The Home,” is an absurd, crazy parable about our cultural terror of aging, using a retirement home as the key setting. What might first grab attention is that it offers Pete Davidson a chance at getting totally serious and on that level it proves he can do it.

Davidson plays Max, a graffiti artist who has lived most of his life as a foster youth. The tragic death of his foster brother sends Max into a deeper spiral towards petty crime. He tags a factory wall with designs warning about climate change and impending doom. When he’s finally arrested, Max is sentenced to community service in the form of doing janitorial duties at the Green Meadows retirement home. It’s a gothic-looking place, from the outside fit for a horror film. Inside, the place looks mundane enough at first. Supervised by Dr. Sabian (Bruce Altman), the home consists of several residents who are more than welcoming to the new janitor. There’s Norma (Mary Beth Peil), who does art and mourns the death of her son, and a former acting teacher, Lou (John Glover). Then, Max begins to hear strange screams down the hallway. When he goes snooping around, he uncovers a shocking secret living in the home.

DeMonaco’s great claim to fame is being the creator of “The Purge” franchise, which began in 2013 with his enduringly eerie fantasy about a theocratic America with an annual ritual where all laws are suspended for one night. Though they differ in terms of quality, the “Purge” films are wacky pop art that does capture something of the spirit of the times. The last one, “The Forever Purge,” imagines a second civil war breaking out over political and class differences. You can’t accuse it of being thoughtless even when the dialogue is hilariously on the nose. A brief “Purge” TV spinoff was actually stronger in terms of story and style. With “The Home” DeMonaco is aiming for a more confined kind of thriller where you need just one setting and a few characters. No need here for burning American cities. “There’s an intimacy with psychological horror. The canvas tends to be smaller, even with a big cast,” DeMonaco told Entertainment Voice about veering towards this plot.

Without getting into the archaic style of what gets called “elevated horror,” DeMonaco quickly sets up the plot. Max hears strange sounds. The house staff warns him to avoid the fourth floor. They won’t specify why, but we know there must be something scary in there. When Max does venture in, he finds an unnerving sight of several elderly patients strapped to chairs, drooling and bloodied as televisions drone on around them. Working with a smaller budget, DeMonaco doesn’t resort to monsters or ghosts to explain what’s happening. He builds a sense of dread through the environment. Cinematographer Anastas N. Michos gives Green Meadows a truly creepy feel where anything can emerge from a shadowy corner, also mixing in DeMonaco’s usual palette of prominent reds and other colors. Dutch angles tend to be overused in horror, yet here they help create an essential feel of claustrophobia.

The real draw is Pete Davidson, who is best known for comedy and satire. Aside from his role on “Saturday Night Live,” Davidson’s film and TV work is all about hitting the funny bone. Even the bloody satire “Bodies Bodies Bodies” aimed for laugh out loud humor. “The Home” gives Davidson the opportunity to play it straight, building fear and balancing that with moments of genuine empathy. The older cast are seasoned pros who bring warmth and sadness to their roles. Mary Beth Peil has wonderful chemistry with Davidson, turning a cliché sweet old lady into a haunted soul who sees in the young orphan a real friend and chance to be maternal. John Glover has more fun however as the energetic acting coach, tasked with coming up with recreational activities for the home residents. “It was fun putting Pete with these older veterans and they had a blast working with him. I think for them it was invigorating for them because Pete is representative of youth, America, and they loved getting bloody (laughs). They enjoyed it because they don’t get to do horror or psychological horror. When it gets really bloody in the third act they were having a blast,” said DeMonaco.

Viewers hoping the material gets bloodier won’t be disappointed. “The Home” does eventually explode into more of a gory experience where diabolical experiments are taking place, connected to the idea of trying to find ways to stop the aging process. Did you really think Dr. Sabian would be a mere doctor? Someone does go mad and start pulling their own teeth out, etc. So, fear not, there will be squirm-inducing shots. If you’re into this kind of movie, “The Home” will be a low budget guilty pleasure. If you have never been able to tap into DeMonaco’s wavelength, then this will not be the place to start. Filmmakers of this type are easy to dismiss by a more pretentious crowd, yet there’s never a lack of energy in his work. Even when his metaphors are on the nose, at least we get what he wants to say. “The Home” won’t be on any end of the year best of lists, but it will get under your skin.

“The Home” releases July 25 in theaters nationwide.