I admire Aaron Paul immensely. Ever since I witnessed his remarkable portrayal of Jesse Pinkman in the critically acclaimed series Breaking Bad, he has held a special place in my heart. The movie Welcome Home is a thrilling masterpiece that can be streamed online. In terms of its chilling atmosphere and suspenseful plot, it belongs in the same league as other Airbnb-based horror movies such as “13 Cameras”, “14 Cameras”, “15 Cameras”, and “Shook“. However, Welcome Home distinguishes itself by introducing a captivating twist. Unlike the typical trope of a creepy voyeur invading someone’s privacy, this time it is a charismatic Italian man, played by Riccardo Scamarcio, who takes on the role of the unsettling antagonist.
I suppose I should mention Emily Ratajkowski, I mean, she is in the film too. She also does a fairly decent job looking pretty and not being totally unconvincing. Although not amazing I could see her as a believable boyfriend for Bryan (Aaron Paul.) The premise for Welcome Home is a well-worn track for those who frequent this type of film regularly.
I’ve seen loads of these stalker-slash kidnapper-slash perverts with a room full of camera movies. The narrative here manages to turn what I thought would be a predictable and unchallenging pretense and spin into some surprises. Granted the surprises are all from films I have seen before but having them all in one place was nice. However, for those who love dramatic thrillers, and are looking to kill 97 minutes you could definitely do worse.
What is the Movie Welcome Home About?
To start, Bryan and Cassie have had a small misfire in their relationship. Not instantly obvious, we are treated to some flashbacks from Bryan. I did initially think poor Bryan had some performance issues. But it turns out he was trying to overcome a small whoopsie his beautiful lover had. Together they scampered off to an Italian hideaway to make all their troubles a distant memory.
In the director’s chair is George Ratliff, best known for a 2001 documentary, Hell House, and a film about a possessed demon boy in Joshua’s Child. Welcome Home is spawned from a short film written and directed by David Levinson in 2012 called Irreversible. Production is from the AMBI Group. But it was the Voltage Pictures and Vertical Entertainment distribution label that piqued my interest in checking this one out.
In any case, the film has received terrible user reviews for Welcome Home. Comments range from those who are disappointed Aaron Paul was in this film to those who felt there was simply too much moaning from Ratakjowski. I must agree with many, that screenplay writing does treat your brain to a small holiday here in the “Welcome Home” movie. But I guess if we are all forced to be in quarantine, we might as well get a holiday to Italy via our eyes. There are plenty of picturesque landscapes and a small trip to the market as well.
The Welcome Home Official Trailer (HD) Vertical Entertainment
For more options to watch this film, the end of the review has a where to watch link.
Movies About Stalkers and Hidden Cameras
Nevertheless, the story travels along nicely with Frederico inserting himself into the couple’s home away from home at an opportune time. Looking inconspicuous, he arrives to rescue Casey from another whoopsie on her morning run. This time she has fallen on one of those pesky fallen branches that often mark a horror movie slasher sequence. Not dead, but obviously dizzy from the fall, she forgets her tumultuous relationship woes and invites sir sexy-neighbor for coffee. By this time, most will be anticipating some sort of manipulation to begin and you wouldn’t be wrong.
From mid-way, brain holidays are a must, but if you’ve already invested the time to get to the middle, you may as well see it out. The overall bar for tension is sorely lacking, but they did try. Frederiko shows he knows his way around the kitchen. In what I hope was a nod to Fatal Attraction, he skins the dead rabbit he casually brings to the house like a pro.
I must admit, I am a sucker for this type of setup. I love a home invasion movie. Sometimes it’s nice to get away and out of your head, watch a movie, and keep up without having to think too much. It was just what the doctor ordered when I had no patience for anything else.
The Welcome Home movie is rated
2.5 I knew the gnomes were up to something out of 5
For a movie with a similar home invasion theme watch Property 2024 or Motion Detected movie next.
Where to Watch Welcome Home 2018
Welcome Home is streaming on:
