#POLISH PREMIERE | fear and terror | motherhood | curse | ghost | Airbnb | marriage | in-laws | toxic relationships | mystery | Germany | hearth and home | dread | fear | madness | one-shotfilm
HOME SWEET HOME – WHERE EVIL LIVES
horror | Germany | 2023
World premiere: FrightFest London 2023
Polish premiere: Splat!FilmFest
POIGNANT AND GRIPPING ONE-SHOT HORROR FILM
Maria is heavily pregnant. She could go into labour at any moment, but even so, at the last minute, she heads to her husband’s family home – an abandoned building that she wants to turn into an Airbnb. All by herself, away from other people, she starts to feel anxious. The power goes out in the whole house, a suspicious neighbour sneaks around and, on top of that, her car keys disappear under mysterious circumstances. As if that wasn’t enough, she has a nagging feeling that she is not alone in the house….
“Home Sweet Home Where Evil Lives” is a horror film that, with sparing resources, in a one-shot and real-time narrative, tells a gripping tale of intensifying horror. Viewers get into the spirit of Maria’s terror, while the aforementioned execution trick allows them to experience a feeling of being a part of the unfolding story. All fans of “Get Out!”, “Ready or Not” and “Rosemary’s Baby” will enjoy this film directed by Thomas Sieben (“Prey”, “Kidnapping Stella”). It is a film that cunningly, in the disguise of horror cinema, smuggles in a story that explores the topic of motherhood and the fears that come with it, toxic relationships in the family and eventually, how little we know about our significant other. But don’t worry, “Home Sweet Home Where Evil Lives”, more than anything else, will terrify you to the core, and at the same time send your heart racing as fear clutches your throat.
The character of Maria is played by Nilam Farooq, a German actress known for her performances in films such as “Contra” and “Haunted Hospital”, among others. She appears throughout every scene of this film and manages not only to carry the story arc of “Home Sweet Home Where Evil Lives” but also to pass on to the viewer the feeling of growing hysteria. With a huge baby bump, she clumsily makes her way along empty corridors and staircases determined to discover the truth, reveal the secret of her husband’s family and do what is best for her and her unborn child. Bonus points for smuggling into the storyline an unknown to the wider public chapter of German history.
director: Thomas Sieben
screenwriter: Thomas Sieben
cast: Nilam Farooq, Justus von Dohnányi, David Kross
language: German
subtitles: Polish, English
duration: 1h 24min
recommended age: 16+
