Homestead review: A muddled doomsday drama with little impact
Homestead aims to explore the struggles of human survival when a fictional nuclear blast hits the East Coast, but unfortunately, this Angel Studios production ends up being more of a coughing baby than a hydrogen bomb.
Angel Studios has earned a fanbase over the years for their slate ofnew moviescentered around Christian and historical stories. (Not to mention the wildly successful TV series,The Chosen.)
Hits like Sound of Freedom sparked public interest from its polarizing subject matter, and equally, Homestead is a apocalyptic nightmare that poses the question: how prepared are you for the end?
Sadly, it appears as though even Homestead wasn’t prepared enough to answer that question. Despite some earnest performances, the doomsday thriller and soon-to-be streaming series fails to make an impact.
When a nuclear bomb is detonated in Los Angeles and the East Coast falls into chaos, several families rush to the sprawling home of Ian Ross (Neal McDonough), to set up camp and ride out what could be an impending war for survival.
That includes ex-Green Beret Jeff Eriksson and his family, unprepared mother Evie McNulty and her kids, and desperate father Rick Baumgartner with his hungry brood. Once they arrive at the “homestead”, Jeff advises Ian on upping his security measures, and the two men eventually clash over their management styles.
No pain, no gain & no conflict
“Clash” would be an exaggeration of the sometimes strained relationship between Ian and Jeff, since there’s little conflict to be found, even in times of storybook nuclear war. While the main strife comes from the two men disagreeing on the severity of the situation, this never comes to a boil.
There should be consequences to Jeff taking over Ian’s turf, or Ian challenging Jeff’s knowledge, but most of these debates end in one or both characters walking away, egos bruised but working relationship still intact.
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There are glimpses of genuine turmoil dangled in the borders of the homestead. What happens when the food runs out? What happens when someone inside starts acting up to a dangerous degree? You wouldn’t know, because none of this happens. This is one hour and fifty minutes’ worth of mild inconveniences that never blow up.
This isn’t the kind of mild drama one can hang a nuclear fallout story on, especially since the focus is so entirely removed from the actual bomb itself. In fact, it’s easy for one to forget that there actuallyhadbeen a detonation in Los Angeles since there seems to be absolutely no aftershocks (literally) to be found.
The event itself is a red-skied distant explosion in LA, though the very real and horrific effects of this aren’t cited even once. This is noOppenheimer– nobody’s expecting a shattering post-bombing clarity here, but some consequences might be nice. Really, the biggest and most baffling question is: why isn’t anybody acting genuinely scared?
A half-story with half-cooked characters
It’s both surprising and completely sensical that Homestead is merely a precursor for an upcoming streaming series, which is set to be released on the same day as the theatrical run. There are only inklings of stories here – Evie’s missing husband, the dramatic medical history of Ian’s isolated daughter, andwhatwas going on with Jeff’s prophetic child?
Much like another underwhelming American tribute released this year (Kevin Costner’sHorizon: An American Saga), Homestead ends with a disorientating sizzle reel for what’s to come.
This movie-to-series plan might have ultimately worked if the film had been better at introducing characters worth caring about (none are fleshed-out) or stakes high enough (again, Homestead focuses on an uninteresting bubble in what could be a frightening and varied tale of responses to a very real threat).
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Homestead might not be enough to pull audiences into a multi-episode series, and yet it also feels incomplete. There’s always a decent story to be found in people coming together under chaotic and trying times, but Homestead feels unfocused and unwilling to tackle tougher themes.
Its characters find relief and understanding quickly, and no threat ever feels truly great, including the aftermath of the bomb itself. Perhaps the best example of this lack of commitment is when one character learns about the nuclear blast, only to respond with a mild-mannered, “Oh, crap!”
If you’re looking for a more complex, richer take on the potential “end of days” future, then save yourself the trouble and watchCivil War. Or literallyanythingelse.
Homestead will be released in theaters on December 20.
For more, check out thebest movies of 2024, and find out what thebest action moviesandbest war movies of all timeare. For more information on how we score TV shows and movies, check out ourscoring guidelines here.
