• 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 – 2023Submissions Open
  • 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 – 2023Submissions Open
  • 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

HomeBound: Rare Authenticity In A Mental Illness Story

Indie Shorts Mag Team by Indie Shorts Mag Team
27 Dec 2022
in Reviews
0
HomeBound - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Small things become objects of great fear. Like a door. It’s just a door. Unless it is the sole barrier that is keeping the outside…out. It’s just a door unless the sound of its creaking hinge makes your insides twist and freeze with dread. And the great outdoors is nothing but a mine of dangers, which could be anything. That anything might just be a vague monolith because even thinking too much about it is stressful. Usher Morgan’s psychological thriller, Homebound follows Jamie, a woman with severe agoraphobia, who must overcome her limitations to find her missing dog.

Agoraphobia, a kind of anxiety disorder, is the fear of being in places or situations out of which exit may not be easy if/when it makes you anxious, embarrassed, or panic. For Jamie (Katie Vincent), it has meant a near impossibility to step outdoors. The film uses sound design to illustrate her internal struggle, and the results are revelatory. Its non-linear narrative sets down the puzzle pieces with deliberation, bringing greater emphasis on her journey so far, and the importance of her dog to that path. The film’s title is a nod to 1993’s Homeward Bound; the tonal contrast actually adds to the urgency of the narrative.

HomeBound - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

Arguably, the best part of the film is its portrayal of courage and love. Clichéd though that sounds, the film does, in fact, get it right and steers away from sappiness. Instead, it remains faithful to reality. Jamie’s actions are in spite of great, seemingly unsurpassable fear, and motivated solely by the love of her dog. Every door she manages to walk through is a feat of strength. When she pauses to put up a poster, her discomfort and intense awareness of her surroundings is palpable.

Vincent carries the film with laudable deftness, landing each scene and emotion with authenticity. The only other character in the story is Jamie’s therapist, Dr. Ackerman, played by Sebastian Arcelus. Arcelus is excellently cast. Although Dr. Ackerman says nothing out of the ordinary, Arcelus brings subtext to the scene in a way that becomes significant later in the plot. Cinematography deserves special mention here for its use of framing to create discomfort in a significant scene between Jamie and Dr. Ackerman. Not only does it use visuals as a foreshadowing tool, it does so in a way that is meaningful to its protagonist: anxiety disorders usually mean you sense ‘danger’ a minute before said danger reveals itself.

HomeBound - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

At each step, Morgan shows his understanding of the subject he is dealing with. Jamie’s characterization feels more real than dramatised, and the stylistic devices the film does employ functions as and adds to the cinematic translation of a situation that is more invisible than not. The conclusion is hopeful, but is barely a second long. Anxiety does not allow sustained relief.

Watch HomeBound Short Film

Homebound: Rare Authenticity In A Mental Illness Story
  • Direction
  • Cinematography
  • Screenplay
  • Editing
  • Music
5
Tags: ReviewShort Film ReviewsThrillerThriller Short Film Review
Previous Post

Danny Boy: A Well-Paced, Crime Thriller For The Gangster Genre Aficionados

Next Post

The Drive: Cyberpunk And (As Always) Unfortunate Realism

Indie Shorts Mag Team

Indie Shorts Mag Team

Related Posts

503 - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

503: A Horror That You Might Wish Upon Some

22nd March 2023
Heather's Voice - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag
Reviews

Heather’s Voice: A Compelling Narrative Of A Futuristic Reality

20th March 2023
Next Post
The Drive - Short Film Review - Indie Shorts Mag

The Drive: Cyberpunk And (As Always) Unfortunate Realism

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Sponsored

Advertise Here

Featured Post

Announcing Indie Shorts Mag Short Film Festival(ISMSFF) 2022

Announcing Indie Shorts Mag Short Film Festival(ISMSFF) 2022

  • 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: Order 27: Who’s going to tell Moscow? Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Love You Tyler: They were roommates. Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Sealed boxes meet open books. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Parasites survive on an illusion of importance. Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: What’s charm got to do with it? Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Vacation: If you don’t have the tropics, store-bought is fine. Read our review and watch the short film. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: La Leyenda del Sombrerón: The hunter of souls stands still, sure of prey. Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm
  • #ShortFilmReview: Chekhov
  • #ShortFilmReview: Silver Screen Suicide: Reel absorbs the real. Or is it the other way around? Read our review. Link in bio.

#ShortFilm #Review #IndieFilmReview #FilmReview #SupportIndieFilm

© 2015-2023 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 – 2023
  • Tutorials
    • Pre-Production
    • Post-Production
  • Short Film TV
  • Submit Short Film
    • Submit Short Film for Review
    • Submit Web Series for Review

© 2015-2023 Indie Shorts Mag.