• Home
  • About Us
  • Submit Article
  • Contact Us
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2022Earlybird Deadline
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Short Film TVLive
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2022Earlybird Deadline
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Short Film TVLive
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review
No Result
View All Result
Indie Shorts Mag
No Result
View All Result

A Home for Curiosities: An Imaginative Story Arguably Saved By Enthusiastic Performances

Sristi Gayen by Sristi Gayen
23 Jan 2020
in Reviews
0
A Home for Curiosities - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

The last time a film about strange-curious-people and houses were made, albeit delightful when it finally kickstarted itself into motion, it suffered from needless weight of setting and establishment. Ben Tobin’s A Home for Curiosities echoes the fantasy of Tim Burton’s Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children but with much less flair. 

Tobin’s screenplay starts off with entertaining humour. His protagonist, Wallace Lindsey Spaulding (Nate Ruth) who despises his name, is written with an almost grown-up humorousness; Ruth carries it rather well. The novelty of a child playing adult mannerisms helps its case too. 

A Home for Curiosities - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

The premise of this fantasy film follows thus: one young boy with a taste for bird-watching finds himself upon the grounds of a house inhabited by abandoned imaginary friends, or as they prefer to call themselves, curiosities. One particularly delightful curiosity,  Adelaide (Vanessa Libbey), introduces Wally to their fantastical and melancholy world. A rather realistic portrayal, these imaginary friends, on being abandoned, keep going on with their lives and find some measure of polite happiness in each other’s company. Something like an eternal tea party, enter the fantastical elements. Wally then takes up the responsibility of finding new humans for the abandoned imaginary friends, all for 50 cents. Adelaide is paired off first with Wally’s crush, Alice (Ripley Dresser). Libbey is a joy to watch as Adelaide, bringing the energetic quirkiness that her character demands.   

MWnIGsE - Indie Shorts Mag
ADVERTISEMENT

The film’s artwork and production design are a treat. Adelaide’s costume with its petals is both curious and fitting for the character. The other characters, though unnamed, are just as well imagined and designed. To the film’s credit, in just the one scene it establishes the pleasant life of the curiosities and their warm nature. The vintage art is echoed in Wally’s own dated attire and mannerisms. It is not clear if the film is set in an earlier era; it is much more fun to imagine it is Wally’s own curious nature that dictates his way of life. 

A Home for Curiosities - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

The premise is funny, Ruth nearly pulls it off, Libbey is delightful, the artwork is a quaint pleasure. But the film does not achieve what it set out to do. The visualisation does not fit the premise, frequently forgetting itself and wandering into slow-motion shots proper for a music video (the film’s own score, however pleasant, yet again does not mesh with the film). Editing lets these meaningless shots dawdle for longer than necessary while using fast cuts in another scene to jarring effect. What ails A Home for Curiosities most of all is its confused tone, existing somewhere between fantasy and comedy, but being unsure of either, ends up a collapsed mess in the absence of a mindful blend. 

Watch A Home for Curiosities Short Film Trailer

  • Direction
  • Cinematography
  • Screenplay
  • Editing
  • Music
Tags: PrivateReviewShort Film Reviews
Previous Post

Cactus Boy: That One Imaginary Friend We Have All Had

Next Post

SeaSapien: Fantasy And Comedy Make Great Bedfellows

Sristi Gayen

Sristi Gayen

Related Posts

Santi - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Santi: Grappling With Not Belonging

25th June 2022
The Atomic Spawn - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

The Atomic Spawn: Nuclear Testing and Other Things Beyond Control

25th June 2022
Next Post
SeaSapien - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

SeaSapien: Fantasy And Comedy Make Great Bedfellows

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Featured Post

Announcing Indie Shorts Mag Short Film Festival(ISMSFF) 2022

Announcing Indie Shorts Mag Short Film Festival(ISMSFF) 2022

Sponsored

  • Recent Reviews
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest Youtube Vimeo

About Indie Shorts Mag

Indie Shorts Mag is a publishing agency that works within the ‘short film circuit’. We review short films, documentaries, music videos and web series, amongst others. We stand out amongst the short film review sites for being multi-diverse & global in our platform and reach.
Our team works tirelessly to help promote, publicize and market your short films that deserve the shout-out! Besides reviews, we host film festival news as it’s a known fact that the film festival buzz is unmissable and we ensure you aren’t left behind!
We aspire to form a niche for ourselves as the ‘short film magazine’ that remains the hub for filmmakers & their audience.

Popular Topics

  • Announcements
  • Articles
  • Crowdfunding
  • Editorial
  • Film Festival News
  • Film Festivals
  • India Edition
  • Interviews
  • Marketing
  • Marketing
  • News
  • Online Premiere
  • Post-Production
  • Pre-Production
  • Reviews
  • Short Film
  • Short Film Competition
  • Short Film News
  • Tutorials
  • Web Series

Indie Shorts Mag on Instagram

Follow Us On Instagram

  • #ShortFilmReview: Santi: Home is somewhere. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: The Atomic Spawn: Nuclear test results are coming home to roost. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Allende: Shame is a deadly thing. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SpportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Something Behind The Walls: Something is eating everything hollow. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Sharing: It is a bittersweet thing. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: The Code Of Family: Age is the number of years of experience. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Where’s Lilli? Is A Tale About Finding Inspiration & Conquering Fears

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio.

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Last Dance: There 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 be someone behind you.. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio.

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilms
  • #ShortFilmTrailer: Out Of Place: Sublime Depiction Of Migrant Struggle. 

Read our review & watch the short, link in bio. 

#ShortFilm #ShortFilmReview #SupportindieFilm #Trailer #FilmTrailer #ShortFilm

© 2015-2022 Indie Shorts Mag.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Interviews
  • News
    • Film Festival News
    • Short Film News
  • Reviews
    • Short Film
    • Documentary
    • Web Series
  • Hall of Fame
  • Short Film Festival – 2022
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Short Film TV
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review

© 2015-2022 Indie Shorts Mag.