HOME SWEET HELL

2015 / Director. Anthony Burns.
Review by Glenn Cochrane.

These days having Katherine Heigl on a movie poster is the equivalent of displaying a sign that reads "Stop. Turn back. You are going the wrong way!". Few would disagree that she is an actress of very little range and her movies are beginning to amalgamate. 

The good news that I bring is that she is excellent in HOME SWEET HELL. This is a film that plays to her strengths and may as well have been written for her. She plays an overly obsessive, controlling and psychotic wife with a bad case of OCD. She gets what she wants in life and makes no exceptions. When her ever-suffering husband finds himself in deep water following an affair, the couple wind up in a sinister and murderous set of circumstances - anything to save her marriage and continue her pursuit of "life goals". 

It is not a good film by any means, nor is it a bad one. It is another one of those direct-to-dvd ventures that is solid enough to hold your attention until the end, but has very little depth and charisma to maintain satisfaction. As mentioned, Heigl is excellent in the lead role and she nails every twisted and comical moment of screen time. Patrick Wilson is also fantastic as her "yes dear" husband. Both of them share the film and relish the material with a gleeful perversion. Jim Belushi also provides some welcome support, although his talent is sorely underutilized. 

If you can imagine a comical blending of FATAL ATTRACTION, SERIAL MOM and STEPFORD WIVES with graphic violence then you will know what to expect. If you watch it for the performances and accept that its narrative is uninspired then you will get more out of HOME SWEET HELL than others. You can take it or leave it. 

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