The film premiered at the South by Southwest international film festival and was theatrically released on October 14, 2016. NEXT is presented by Adobe. PLOT SUMMARY 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. If nothing else, Jack Goes Home effectively imagines family dysfunction as a demon that cant be exorcised. Product details MPAA rating : R (Restricted) Product Dimensions : 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 2.4 Ounces It releases today in cinemas and VOD, but if you want a spoiler-free review before checking it out, read on. [CDATA[ So, he goes to his office, his slice of solitude where he used to express his inherent creativity. As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Writer-director Thomas Dekker's "Jack Goes Home" turns one family's dark, twisted past into an invisible monster, haunting the mind of a grief . News, Reviews, and more! The skeletal backbone of Jack Goes Home is weak and strained, that of a trippy mindf*#$ with only short bursts of genre aggression. Dekker is one bleak sonofabitchby way of his scripted discussions about life and death,but his want to please every type of genre fan leads to incomplete ideas and bouncing questions. Though uneven at times, the filmgreatlybenefits from such aunique and emotionally enveloping approach, at least for this reviewer. Jack Goes Home: Trailer 1 View all videos Jack Goes Home Photos View All Photos Movie Info After his father dies in a car crash, a man (Rory Culkin) returns home to care for his injured. His dad is dead after being nearly decapitated in an auto wreck, and the way he deals with the news is bizarre. 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. Starring Rory Culkin,Lin Shaye, Daveigh Chase. Fiction. Mami Wata / Nigeria (Director and Screenwriter: C.J. A still from Talk to Me by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Then we meet his mother, Teresa (Lin Shaye), who survived the fatal crash that killed his dad, and realize how similar her calm, pragmatic demeanor is until a violent streak unleashes with paranoia and hubris. 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. Nothing about the film is subtle. NEXT: Visionary works distinguished by an innovative, forward-thinking approach to storytelling populate this program. When he returns to his childhood home Jack discovers nothing is what it seems. During his stay at home, he uncovers long buried secrets and lies within his family history, his parents, his friends and his very identity. Fiction. There is no subtext inJack Goes Home. It seeks divisiveness by throwing the kitchen sink of horrific tragedies onto Jack Thurlowe (Rory Culkin) until he can no longer breathe before letting him stew simultaneously unhinged and deceptively anticlimactic. There isnt a lot of motivation for many of the things that characters do, and while a third act twist does explain the reasoning for this, its too little, too late. Jack is at first unfazed by the tragedy: We live, we drive, we crash, we die, he blankly tells his girlfriend, Cleo (Britt Robertson). Teresa returns home, picks up her dog, and seemingly kills Duncan with a kitchen knife. Who knows, maybe I just didnt get it? 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. He clashes with his mother repeatedly and has painful exchanges with friends and his pregnant fianc each time he is forced to interact. A leading turn by Rory Culkin may . The WIZAR NEWS: MONSTER FEST ANNOUNCES OPENING FILM RAW AN NEWS: ADAPTING LOVECRAFT FOR THE SCREEN: A MASTERC Deathwave: Defining a Movement (an in depth look a NEWS: TONIGHT SHE COMES announces World Premiere a A Terror Time Out: Tales of Halloween (2015), A Moment with Kreepy Kev: Dark Skies (2013). While there, he begins uncovering long-buried secrets about his childhood kept from him by his parents. As Jacks volatile mother, Shaye has an absolute field day as well; I have notseen suchagleeful delivery of truly searing dialogue in a while, and it is great to see this genre vet finally get to revel in such a colorfully villainous role. Nevertheless, even with a few issues that nagged me, I still ended up enjoying Jack Goes Home. Andrew Hawkins is a producer and publicist known for Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary, Jan Svankmajers INSECT, and Athanor: The Alchemical Furnace. Culkin, who is in nearly every scene, carries the film with a considerable amount of ease. What did Disney actually lose from its Florida battle with DeSantis? The Ending Of Jack Reacher Explained. Fiction. This is the snap people talk about: that indefinable moment where the person you couldnt fathom doing anything heinous transforms into a killer without rhyme or reason. And he will take the news about his father (Nando Del Castillos Damian) dying in stride, sharing it with his pregnant fiance (Britt Robertsons Cleo) in passing conversation as though it was as mundane as what he ate for lunch. The scriptwill be especially frustrating for thosewho do not have much patience for a dreary cinematic experience that focuseson the tedium of tragedy. Evelyne Ily appears in a still from Mami Wata by C.J Fiery Obasi , an official selection of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. And what am I? Dekker might very well have asked himself the same thing because, as a director, hes ultimately just like Jack: He has no idea who he is. With the emotional supportof his best friend Shanda (a barely recognizable Daveigh Chase), Jack must deal with the repercussions of going home. Luckily, Culkins crazed performance saves a lot of the shakier moments with his emotional distress. Its just text. Jack Thurlowe's world is turned upside down when his beloved father is killed in a brutal car accident. Just understand what youre getting yourself into. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Plot. 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. //]]> 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. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Andrij Parekh. Ill have to check it out. World Premiere. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an commission. Hes haunted by outreaching arms and bloody creatures, beaten by his mother, kissed by his male neighbor, ruined by bad news from his wife but how does it all add up? Jack Goes Home was released on DVD & Blu-ray on Tuesday, December 6, 2016 . However, this perfect life is turned upside down when Jack discovers that his parents have suffered a brutal car accident back in his hometown. A still from birth/rebirth by Laura Moss, an official selection of the MIDNIGHT Section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Our story Email Us Call Us: 248.387.9826, USA TODAY • L.A. Times • CBS Detroit • Crains Detroit Business • Corp Magazine, Thomas Dekker, Lin Shaye, Nikki Reed, Louis Hunter, Serge Levin, Britt Robertson, Natasha Lyonne, Rory Culkin, Daveigh Chase. Upon returning home for the funeral, the volatile nature of Jack and Teresas relationship boils to the surface and the constant barrage of sympathy from the town starts to weigh on Jacks grieving process. Dekkers combination of Eugene ONeil and The Shining ultimately proves too unwieldy, especially when the secrets start raining down hard in the final half-hour. A still from My Animal by Jacqueline Castel, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. This under-directed muddle is punctuated by over-directed dream sequences and scare scenes that lean heavily on images cribbed from horror classics like Repulsion and Suspiria. Dekker quite openly admitted that he did not want to make a pretentious festival film while creating Jack Goes Home, a narrative that was inspired byhis own dealings with grief and his fathers death. In the 2012 film "Jack Reacher," a horrible crime is committed in Pittsburgh: five people are coldly executed by a sniper. 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. Hes suffocated by an avalanche of hurdles, but every mystery operates on its own tangential mindset. Jack Goes Home is currently playing in select theaters and available on VOD. (imdb) TCI. Its a dark tale of unraveling plotlines that surround a troubled youth raised in an abusive environment. No Information. 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The film is chiefly set up as a representation of the world through Jacks eyes as these truths flood his outlook, and though some of the visual cues grow repetitive and a bit on-the-nose, Dekker mostly succeeds in creating a world that is bizarre and unstable for hissuffering protagonist. Get our L.A. Disneys Haunted Mansion Teaser Trailer Welcomes You Back to an Iconic House of Horrors! Find him on Twitter @TracedThurman, Ghostface Has Been Randomly Appearing in Streets Across the Country [Images], Vinegar Syndromes March Releases Include Freeway II Starring Natasha Lyonne on 4K Ultra HD. Ultimately, it feels like Dekker has reverse-engineered Jack from all the sundry plot twists, dream sequences, and one-liners he wanted to include. The plot verges into supernatural territory when Jack discovers that his father left him messages to be found once he grew up. Thematic and stylistic idiosyncrasiesaside, audiences are most likely to agree that Jack Goes Homeslead performances are its highlight. I dont think anyone outside of Dekker himself can truly unpack the type of psychological chaos occurring within Jack Goes Home, and I like that notion. The films genre hopping and preposterous plotting might not be so bad if Dekker seemed like he was having more fun directing it all. Dekker also a talented young actor and musician reportedly based Jack Goes Home on his own experiences, which may be why it initially plays more like a personal drama than a thriller. Although the story gets lost at points and certain plot aspects are clichd, Jack Goes Home makes for an intriguing and often unsettling psychological horror thriller from writer and director Thomas Dekker, worth watching for its strong performances, creepy atmosphere, dark sense of dread, and absorbing visuals. All of the other actors do their best with the material they are given (particularly Shaye, who has never been more fun), but they can only do so much with Dekkers script, which unfortunately does them no favors. Jack heads home for the funeral, but when it gets there, he sees that his mother is not doing too well. Jack Goes Home (2016) 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. Jack Goes Home deserves credit for balancing so many plates, until they all come crashing down in a chorus of sinful smashes. After his father is killed in a car crash, Jack . Malicious mothers throwing fathers through windows. Fiction. Whether you like the filmor not, Im sure that still feels pretty damn good. Give this one a watch, but just know the risks going in. At home, he will discover dark family secrets that only exacerbate his deteriorating mental state. Brittle reveals crumble at the cusp of understanding, meant to rattle instead of satisfy the whole style over substance clich rearing its head once again. Fiction projects from emerging artists around the world offer fresh perspectives and inventive styles. Dekker has rounded up quotean impressive cast for Jack Goes Home. A still from Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls by Andrew Bowser, an official selection of the Midnight section at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. 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. Jack Goes Home (2016) Plot Showing all 1 items Jump to: Summaries (1) Summaries 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. 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). NEWS: ITHACA FANTASTIK FEST Natures Revenge bumpe MUSIC NEWS: Data Airlines to Release Limited Editi IFC FILMS Presents: King Cobra - Official Trailer my thoughts on. 'I Am Not A Serial Killer', A Terror Time Out: The Monster Squad (1987). DAY ONE. Also, some of thecharacters reactions to the tragic events that are happening all around them come off as fake. Thatswho Jack is, for better or worse. Give this one a chance and I think youll like it. Jack becomes an utterly fascinating character from the get-go, the arrival of best friend Shanda (Daveigh Chase) sparking a violent sleepwalking fit wherein he growls about the attic only rendering him more so. There, he uncovers long-buried secrets and lies within his family history, his parents, his friends and his very identity. Would love your thoughts, please comment. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Start typing to see results or hit ESC to close. 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. What is real and what is not becomes harder and harder to differentiate. What initially provides him nostalgia, however, soon evolves into irrefutable evidence of unimaginable terror. Jack Goes Homecomes to us courtesy of actor Thomas Dekker, who wrote the film 10 months ago over the course of three weeks. There probably are some people that will enjoy Jack Goes Home, Im just not one of them. When the foreman brutally turns on Rosas father, she sets out for justice, seeking help from the king of a powerful organization of sorcerers. There are plenty of moments of suspense, terror (attic scene springs to mind) and as I previously mentioned, Lin Shaye is phenomenal in this flick. Past documentary films include The Dissident, Lucy and Desi, On the Record, and Miss Americana.