It's pretty fun of the mill. Found footage from a likeable Youtuber who goes missing. There's scary dolls, something in the attic, animals that see things. Blah blah. It isn't awful though, it's just been done so many times. The main actor is good. I suspect he did it all himself.
26 Reviews
Home Alone?
Spike_the_Cactus26 December 2019
Apparently not. Guy house-sits for some random woman, and for some reason he documents the experience. Inevitably some weird stuff takes place, though the emphasis is on 'some'.
The biggest problem with this film is the extensive amount of filler. Other micro-budget found footage films like Leaving D.C make the most of every minute, either with events that gradually move the plot along, or exposition that provides the protagonist with a personality. With A Stranger's Home every scene feels dragged out, even the good one. Even that scene loses its impact when the main character laughs it off the next day rather than call the police and drive miles away.
I may well have missed the explanation for the dodgy plot, due to the dialogue being so hard to hear, but given how the story progresses it makes absolutely no sense to give him chance after chance to get scared and run off.
It's not all bad. I liked the actor, and he has a very nice living room. I enjoyed that one scene around the middle point of the film, even if it didn't seem to have any real relevance to anything, and for a micro-budget project it's a reasonable little yarn.
The biggest problem with this film is the extensive amount of filler. Other micro-budget found footage films like Leaving D.C make the most of every minute, either with events that gradually move the plot along, or exposition that provides the protagonist with a personality. With A Stranger's Home every scene feels dragged out, even the good one. Even that scene loses its impact when the main character laughs it off the next day rather than call the police and drive miles away.
I may well have missed the explanation for the dodgy plot, due to the dialogue being so hard to hear, but given how the story progresses it makes absolutely no sense to give him chance after chance to get scared and run off.
It's not all bad. I liked the actor, and he has a very nice living room. I enjoyed that one scene around the middle point of the film, even if it didn't seem to have any real relevance to anything, and for a micro-budget project it's a reasonable little yarn.
Literally nothing happens
shaunkelly-766886 July 2020
I find myself very unbiased in my reviews of movie, and as I am a fan of the found footage genre I thought I would give this a try. BIG MISTAKE !!! I could bore you with the ins and outs of this one, but as per the title, literally nothing happens. I made it through to 1 hour 14 minutes, and with very little time left, I just switched it off. I am usually the one to see things through, but, nah, not with this one. Watch it, make your own mind up, and if you get through to the end, you are a better person than me.
Only myself to blame
Saiph9017 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
I vowed never to watch another found footage but we were struggling to find a film and this appeared to have an ok rating. The maker obviously was influenced by Ben, I use influenced in the sense that he thought he could replicate the story set in Ireland, unfortunately omitting any humour, wit, intelligence or any scary moments that Ben possessed. This was truly awful, I have found episodes of Father Ted more scary, the story is beyond simple, the bloke rocks up to house sit and films himself on his camera and phone. Any normal person would have been off after experiencing chanting, dolls wandering about, banging on the door but no he sticks around and we have an utterly senseless ending. I think found footage has been the worse thing to have happened to films, it seems an excuse to make garbage like this with so little care to the craft of film making. Avoid, avoid, avoid or slap some paint on a wall and watch it for 70 minutes it will be more rewarding.
Painfully awful
royeighmey23 February 2020
Annoying to watch
zamboni-366333 April 2022
This started out okay. A guy takes a job house-sitting and he starts hearing things. Things move around. Okay, one thing moves around. At first he thinks it's exciting. Until it isn't. About halfway through I realized it wasn't going to get any better. And it didn't. The ending was stupid. Really stupid. I liked the main guy. I can't say the same about the storyline.
It's alright.
walkenlvsme15 April 2021
I've turned off worse.
It had its creep factor moments. The problem I had with the movie was the guy's reaction to things. It seems that his downplaying of what had previously happened and were currently happening took away from the potential frights. Sometimes the scariest thing about a moment is when the person you're with is scared, and that was really lacking in this.
He was an above adequate actor, I just know I would have some bigger reactions to what I was witnessing.
Could he also not have just turned on some lights? Did I miss something?
It had its creep factor moments. The problem I had with the movie was the guy's reaction to things. It seems that his downplaying of what had previously happened and were currently happening took away from the potential frights. Sometimes the scariest thing about a moment is when the person you're with is scared, and that was really lacking in this.
He was an above adequate actor, I just know I would have some bigger reactions to what I was witnessing.
Could he also not have just turned on some lights? Did I miss something?
Ridiculous
cannondenise-405068 March 2022
That has to be the most pathetic film I have ever watched. What was it supposed to be about because none of it made sense. I kept waiting for something scary to happen, don't know why they said viewers of a nervous disposition should not watch it that was a laugh.
Slow buildup of considerable tension in low budget 'found footage' nerve jangler
david-268517 March 2019
I liked it. It was quite subtle in places as the mysterious events unfolded and the tension mounted.
THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE MIGHT BE CONSTRUED AS A VERY MINOR SPOILER FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT TO KNOW ANY DETAIL BUT IT DOESN'T DETRACT FROM THE STORY OR GIVE ANYTHING AWAY. The very subtle sound of what may be a baby crying in the background, which he never referred to, was very effective. POSSIBLE SPOILER FINISHED. Nothing is fully explained but you can try and figure it out. You are placed into the centre of the mystery and our 'hero' with the camera is our avatar. So, rather than have it conveniently explained we just have to go through what he went through. There was quite an original soundscape too. Although, the genre is now full of tropes and even cliches, this particular effort felt quite fresh in places. The man with the camera was neither hysterical nor completely sceptical...although he was more biased towards scepticism. This kept him emotionally quite even and stable and curious enough to stick around in order to get to the bottom of these strange events. This made his fear all the more believable and palpable as things started to mount up. Overall, almost zero budget, well-paced, likeable protagonist, original soundscape, some very creepy, initially subtle, moments with steadily mounting tension throughout the film. Worth a watch in a very competitive genre.
THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE MIGHT BE CONSTRUED AS A VERY MINOR SPOILER FOR SOME PEOPLE WHO DON'T WANT TO KNOW ANY DETAIL BUT IT DOESN'T DETRACT FROM THE STORY OR GIVE ANYTHING AWAY. The very subtle sound of what may be a baby crying in the background, which he never referred to, was very effective. POSSIBLE SPOILER FINISHED. Nothing is fully explained but you can try and figure it out. You are placed into the centre of the mystery and our 'hero' with the camera is our avatar. So, rather than have it conveniently explained we just have to go through what he went through. There was quite an original soundscape too. Although, the genre is now full of tropes and even cliches, this particular effort felt quite fresh in places. The man with the camera was neither hysterical nor completely sceptical...although he was more biased towards scepticism. This kept him emotionally quite even and stable and curious enough to stick around in order to get to the bottom of these strange events. This made his fear all the more believable and palpable as things started to mount up. Overall, almost zero budget, well-paced, likeable protagonist, original soundscape, some very creepy, initially subtle, moments with steadily mounting tension throughout the film. Worth a watch in a very competitive genre.
Tension without context
tfigore4 October 2020
An odd film, decent at building tension but fails to maintain any real coherence. The suspense comes and goes but is mostly unlinked. At points it feels hard to follow. As a fan of found footage, this films falls into a lot of the same traps that kills the the genre. The bones are there but no meat.
Subtle, effective, and creepy
j-nickturner8 April 2020
This no-budget found footage horror film is now one of my favorites! The scares are understated, never relies on cheap jump scares (not a single one), and use your imagination against you. If you are picky about the unwritten rules of found footage, you will be pleased to find that this film follows them all. No soundtrack/music, no noises that seem like they don't come from the camera's microphone, and no annoying jump scares. Smart and subtle.
I like how the main character seems curious and cautious, but has a bit of boldness. It's refreshing to see an atypical protrayal from the lead. No annoying screaming or huffing. At first, he finds things interesting and slowly becomes more and more frightened. But he never feels over the top.
My only complaint is that the tension built in the first half fizzles a bit in the second half and devolves into some cliches. It still works, it's just that the spooky bits weren't as creative in the last half.
Overall, this is a fantastic indie horror film that is very well executed.
I like how the main character seems curious and cautious, but has a bit of boldness. It's refreshing to see an atypical protrayal from the lead. No annoying screaming or huffing. At first, he finds things interesting and slowly becomes more and more frightened. But he never feels over the top.
My only complaint is that the tension built in the first half fizzles a bit in the second half and devolves into some cliches. It still works, it's just that the spooky bits weren't as creative in the last half.
Overall, this is a fantastic indie horror film that is very well executed.
Above average!
halesgkh3 May 2021
Warning: Spoilers
The main character, and the only character in the film, did a believable job as a not to bright skeptic of the paranormal. He films himself while house sitting and things start to happen . Any normal person would have bailed when stuff starts moving on it's own but the density of this character keeps him there as things progress! The sound for this film raises it from so so to genuinely creepy with a terrifying ending that raised the hair on my neck ! The most original creepy sound I've ever heard in any film! This scene alone makes watching this ultra low budget FF flic a must !
Acceptable film for horror movies
redban0223 January 2021
The movie is OK, a good flick for any fans of the found-footage genre. The movie, at times, was very creepy. I think a lot of the scariness comes from the setting, the fact that our protagonist is all alone in the middle of nowhere. All of the scenes where he walked around at night were tense.
The studio really seems to make-do with what they had, from a budget standpoint. They couldn't have expensive CGI or whatnot to scare people, so the film relies on minor stuff, like objects moving around, which really worked.
The studio really seems to make-do with what they had, from a budget standpoint. They couldn't have expensive CGI or whatnot to scare people, so the film relies on minor stuff, like objects moving around, which really worked.
Painfully Bad
DarkBlueChris55512 February 2019
Warning: Spoilers
If it's true that all you need to make a half decent found footage movie is a good camera phone and the right setting, then In a Strangers Home proves that actually you can't.
Everything here has been done a million times before. Man rocks up to a home to do some house sitting, alone except for the owners pets. One or two unexplainable things happen. There's some sort of finale. The end.
Even with a runtime of only 70 minutes it's too long because nothing happens bar one or two non-scary moments. And although your average found footage horror hardly requires you to engage your brain, this one insults the audiences intelligence on a whole new level (you can't pretend all the doors in a house have locked themselves when not only do the doors not actually have any locks on them, but the main character is clearly not turning the door handles)
What story there is makes no sense and there's no explanation to it at all. The found footage genre is a saturated market as it is - it certainly doesn't need dud's like this adding to the pile. And whilst I acknowledge it's one of these micro-budget movies, I've seen a few of them and they're all better than this one. Avoid.
Everything here has been done a million times before. Man rocks up to a home to do some house sitting, alone except for the owners pets. One or two unexplainable things happen. There's some sort of finale. The end.
Even with a runtime of only 70 minutes it's too long because nothing happens bar one or two non-scary moments. And although your average found footage horror hardly requires you to engage your brain, this one insults the audiences intelligence on a whole new level (you can't pretend all the doors in a house have locked themselves when not only do the doors not actually have any locks on them, but the main character is clearly not turning the door handles)
What story there is makes no sense and there's no explanation to it at all. The found footage genre is a saturated market as it is - it certainly doesn't need dud's like this adding to the pile. And whilst I acknowledge it's one of these micro-budget movies, I've seen a few of them and they're all better than this one. Avoid.
Pretty Dumb !
rotini-525862 March 2021
Horror? Horrible!
tomtpcarpe26 October 2020
SO SO SO SO SOOOOOO BAD!!!!!
andrewmcl83-170-76441614 December 2019
Warning: Spoilers
This is a mivie about a guy who whispers the entire movie so quietly you hear about 1/4 of what he says, something about a doll, some dogs, the absolute worst portrayal of fear by an "actor" EVER, oh and lets not forget the absolutely pointless drum beating and chanting in the beginning that have sent anyone running for their lives. I literally fell asleep every 5-10 mins bc of the whispering. How do you make a movie where noone hears you!? Oh and the ending, brutal. Nothing makes sense in thos movie, nothing is connected or explained, it is just CRAP. Let me add that i love found footage movies and i am here to destroy the drek that is out there and this is the worst of the worst. There is no way this is legitimately five stars, those ratings must have come from people that know the "filmmaker".... oh by the way, there's actually something laughable, all the doors in the house supposedly close him into the area where you enter the attic and then the attic door pops open and he actually goes up there to begin the ending 😭
Yawn-worthy
thrax-2331621 February 2021
This might possibly be the most boring film I've ever seen. The lead character has all of the energy of rotten potato. I let this run for maybe 40 or 45 minutes before I started fast-forwarding. I get it, found footage films intentionally show a lot of tape of mundane activities, but, wow, I felt like that's pretty much all there was in this one. I haven't actually finished watching the movie yet; I was so bored I had to pause it and write this review so that I could stave off sleepiness for a few minutes.
Truly abysmal, but points for effort.
christopherruthenberg2 March 2020
This is probably the most dull movie I think I've ever seen. I really do admire the effort put in by the writer/director/star of the movie, but there's maybe 15 minutes of the film that is actually worth something. Would've maybe been an okay short film, but certainly not worth the painfully long 70 minute runtime.
I liked it!
nerona139 July 2022
Warning: Spoilers
This was fun to watch. This found footage gives off the creepy, eerie vibes throughout the whole film. Very low key nothing crazy but it still works and the sound played a big roll in it . And the ending worked too, kind of gets you guessing especially the conversation he hears below him.
Lazy
johnnygriner6 July 2022
I think it's beautifully done
kehaywood871 April 2019
Warning: Spoilers
It was good from start to finish, yes it's another found footage and yes same old outcome. That said it's still well done and I was on edge especially when. Stuff started to happen and get more and more aggressive.
Forgot the negative 1's if you like found footage...crack on and enjoy the ride!
Well done that man!
Scary scary scary!!!
lewismart23 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Found footage is one of my favourite sub genres within horror and I've seen a lot of them, some good but most bad. I can't lie, this movie scared the crap out of me.
Yes it's not the most original movie or has the best story ever. But it's scary, which is what the point is meant to be. This may vary though with each person. I tend to find movies like this scary as they feel realistic. The acting is good too!
However, sometimes I found myself getting annoyed when the main character wouldn't just leave the house when things got strange, instead he stayed. I know this is probably a budget reason but it didn't fuss me that much. Also the last couple of minutes started to annoy me with the light flashing, again this is a personal preference, it might not bother other people. This however didn't take away that this movie is realistic and scary!
Pleasantly surprised
lindabarham4 December 2021
I am a lover of horror movies. There isn't much that scares me anymore and I think most modern day horror movies are pretty predictable and stupid. There's something about this film that terrified me. I think it's because less is more. The slow buildup was great too. My toes were curled the whole movie, especially the bedroom scene towards the end. Very well done!
Creeped me out
maiesharowland14 November 2022
This movie really managed to creep me out, yo! It takes a lot these days but there's a sequence in this movie that made the hair on the back of my neck rise. It's not perfect but it's a little gem thats for sure. The house that everything takes place in is very freaky at night. It's set back off the road a ways and has a little dirt road going up to it, which is just freaky as heck. I'm surprised this movie doesn't have a bigger following online. Or maybe it does and I just don't know? IDK. Give it a watch IF you are into Found Footage horror. If you aren't, you'll giggle at this thing and turn it off, if you are, this is a total hidden gem.
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