Homecoming Year: 2005 Director: Joe Dante Written by: Sam Hamm Threat: Undead Weapon of Choice: Hands Based upon: short story -- "Death & Sufferage" -- Dale Bailey Color/B&W/3D: Color Language: English Country of Origin: U.S.A. IMDb page:

Other movies in this series:
Please see the Masters of Horror series page.

Rish's Reviews
Dead soldiers are coming back to life, run for your lives! Then we flash back to how it all began, with a Washington D.C. speechwriter's wish that inexplicably comes true. As zombie veterans begin marching all over the nation (UNKILLABLE zombie veterans, I might add), our heroes find out what they want. But will that stop them?
Okay, all my synopses can't be winners, folks. They ain't paying me to do this (though if you'd like to send a check, I could sure use it).
Joe Dante doesn't make a lot of horror films nowadays. He's done Piranha, The Howling and Gremlins, but that was twenty years ago. Still, I'd say he's more a of "Master" of Horror than the guy who directed Fear.com.
You know, there's a lot of political commentary out there, especially about the current U.S. administration. Bush-bashing, when done in fiction, tends to be subtle, light-hearted (or semi-light-hearted) jabs done in a clever, roundabout way.
Well, Homecoming is not like that at all. It comes right out and SAYS that George W. Bush is corrupt and a liar, that he got into office due to underhanded election-tampering, and that the war in Iraq is as bullshit-filled as a holstein's diaper. That really surprised me.
George Romero's zombie films were always political (whether talking about racism or dehumanisation or militarism or consumerism), but not like this. This isn't parody or political diatribing, it's an outright attack.
That aside, the film was very well done. Heck, pretty much every one of the "Masters of Horror" series has been. It's well-executed, has a good story, has some funny moments (especially by the always-great Robert Picardo's character) and gory ones too.
But I thought the ending was a little silly, stupid even.
There was some deep stuff, specifically in the main character's relationship with his new Ann Coulter-like girlfriend, and his backstory with his Vietnam veteran brother. This might have been a bit more satisfying as a feature-length film, but perhaps part of why this series is so good is that none of the stories wear out their welcome.
I didn't find Homecoming as fun as Deer Woman or as scary as Dreams In the Witch House or as outright great as Cigarette Burns, but it's well worth seeing. I don't know that I've ever seen a movie quite like this. That sort of says something, don't it?
Posted: August 28, 2006

The tyranist's thoughts
What an unusual horror movie. I'm used to getting political messages from dramas and comedies and rock songs, but such overt politicking from a horror flick is pretty unusual. Not unexpected given the current climate, but unusual.
The idea is a neat one and it is mostly well executed. The humour is light and entertaining, but as Rish pointed out, some of the character development goes far beyond what was necessary for such a flick. On the other hand, some of the characters were no better than caricatures.
So while I felt that the movie was a bit too heavy-handed with its political message (a trait that always bothers me), it was pretty well made and was definitely entertaining. While it isn't the best of the Masters of Horror series, it is worth a watch.
Posted: August 29, 2006

Total Skulls: 9

Sequel
Sequel setup
Rips off earlier film
Horror film showing on TV/in theater in movie
Future celebrity appears
Former celebrity appears
Bad title
Bad premise
Bad acting
Bad dialogue
Bad execution
MTV Editing
OTS
Girl unnecessarily gets naked
Wanton sex
Death associated with sex
Unfulfilled promise of nudity
Characters forget about threat
Secluded location
Power is cut
Phone lines are cut
Someone investigates a strange noise
Someone runs up stairs instead of going out front door
Camera is the killer
Victims cower in front of a window/door
Victim locks self in with killer
Victim running from killer inexplicably falls
Toilet stall scene
Shower/bath scene
Car stalls or won't start
Cat jumps out
Fake scare
Laughable scare
Stupid discovery of corpse
Dream sequence
Hallucination/Vision
No one believes only witness
Crazy, drunk, old man knows the truth
Warning goes unheeded
Music detracts from scene
Death in first five minutes
x years before/later
Flashback sequence
Dark and stormy night
Killer doesn't stay dead
Killer wears a mask
Killer is in closet
Killer is in car with victim
Villain is more sympathetic than heroes
Unscary villain/monster
Beheading
Blood fountain
Blood spatters - camera, wall, etc.
Poor death effect
Excessive gore
No one dies at all
Virgin survives
Geek/Nerd survives
Little kid lamely survives
Dog/Pet miraculously survives
Unresolved subplots
"It was all a dream" ending
Unbelievably happy ending
Unbelievably crappy ending
What the hell?