Monday, December 5, 2005
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Today we've added a brand new review from Showtime's Masters of Horror anthology, which is already working on its second season with creator Mick Garris. Inside you can read about Joe Dante's Homecoming, which was written by Sam Hamm. In Homecoming terror and scandal grip the nation when the media discovers that the living dead have swayed the presidential election. This adaptation of Dale Bailey’s award-winning short story “Death & Suffrage” blends zombie horror and contemporary political satire with chilling results. Read on for the review or click here for more...
"Homecoming" by Joe Dante
Episode 1.6
Reviewed By Tex Massacre
1/10 or ½ Skulls
I can’t say that I’m totally shocked that director Joe Dante has provided Masters of Horror with its first truly unwatchable episode. Dante has been heading down hill ever since the release of his seminal 1984 camp fest Gremlins. Over the years Dante has managed to drop a decent flick into the barrel about twice a decade but the last time I can remember watching something he directed and actually enjoying the experience was way back in 1993 when he lampooned the atomic age while releasing Matinee on the world. Now it appears that 12 years later Dante has nothing new to say and nothing left to show an audience.
Homecoming follows the saga of a high-powered campaign consultant who while conducting a television interview defending America’s war on Iraq, wishes that the soldiers that died serving our country could return to tell us that the cause was worth the cost. To make a long story short, they do return, but not to herald the great sacrifice they made. They have returned to bring down the administration and their culture of lies.
Dante would have you believe that Homecoming is a political satire under the guise of a horror film. I submit that Homecoming fails as both and stands as one of the most horrendous pieces of partisan propaganda ever perpetrated on film, and this comes from a critic who stood in line for the first showing of Fahrenheit 9/11 and applauded as the credits rolled. As I watched Homecoming, I was awestruck at its blatant tactlessness. In less than 1 hour, Dante manages to offend some 99% of the country and step all over the point by propagating such a nasty piece of celluloid.
Dante’s political vision may have clouded his judgment and in times of war that might be overlooked, but his failure as a filmmaker in allowing a dull, pointless, humorous and grotesquely ridiculous feature out into the world is purely unforgivable. Simply put, Dante has abused his audience’s trust and sullied the bloody name of horror. With an increasingly sporadic output, Homecoming may wind up being the death kneel for the one time master of horror-comedy, and I for one will be glad to see him go.
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