The Home Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		1.0
Overall		2.5

The Home Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman September 28, 2025

Note: In a release strategy that somewhat mirrors their recent The Surfer 4K, Lionsgate Limited is (as of the writing of this review) the only place to find The Home 4K, which includes a 1080 disc. While it took Lionsgate a couple of months to offer a wide standalone 1080 release of The Surfer, they've brought out this standalone 1080 release of The Home simultaneously with the 4K release which is available on Amazon.

Horror films in particular often like to craft a story where some kind of naïf is surrounded by apparently friendly people who, well, aren't. The prime example in that category probably continues to be Rosemary's Baby, especially given the seemingly "meek" qualities Mia Farrow brought to her characterization of Rosemary Woodhouse. Few would probably ever accuse Pete Davidson of being meek or naive, and that may be one underlying issue with The Home, since it may be hard for some viewers to believe that a force of nature like Davidson couldn't handle himself more effectively under the fraught circumstances that his character Max finds himself in this admittedly at least intermittently spooky enterprise. The Home virtually wallows in disturbing imagery and jump scares, but its actual narrative is frankly patently absurd on any number of levels, and while the supporting performances by a cohort of seniors with impressive New York theater pedigrees are quite effective, Davidson's "heralded" dramatic debut is probably not going to make his audition reel anytime soon.

The Home offers some quick backstory detailing the traumatic childhood of Max as a foster child with older foster brother Luke (Matthew Miniero). Luke's apparent suicide leads Max into years of bad behavior which then results in troubles with the law, which in turn gets him an "offer he can't refuse" to basically work off his sentence as a janitor at a retirement facility called Green Meadows. It may not be quite as tony as the estate shown in Netflix's recent The Thursday Murder Club , but the residents there are about as quirky as the ones in the streaming mystery, and much as with that enterprise there seem to be nefarious goings on at the place, though in this case it's pretty much Max on his own investigating rather than a group of seniors.

The Home traffics in so many well worn tropes that it's almost a catalog of horror movie clichés at times. There's the "forbidden floor" of Green Meadows that houses a bunch of horrifying people which of course Max wants more information about. There's also a recurrent use of admittedly very disturbing imagery of hypodermic needles being inserted into eyes which can hardly be thought of as an "innovative" scare inducer by this point, but which becomes a foundational plot element as to what's "really" going on. The upshot of course is that things are not as they seem either in terms of Green Meadows and the seniors there or with regard to Max's status as a foster child and the death of Luke.

There are some decently unsettling aspects to The Home, but it's all so increasingly ridiculous, culminating in Max finding a secret "streaming service" of his own that supposedly starts to offer clues, but which itself may be more obfuscation. By the time the "Moishe the Explainer" bits are rolled out, that particular denouement is almost immediately undercut by an unexpectedly long "coda" that sees all sorts of mayhem ensuing, which then supposedly leads to a more or less happy conclusion. Davidson looks particularly uneasy throughout the film, and not just in terms of offering a believable characterization of Max. That may be one underlying reason for the rather long gestational period The Home experienced, with attempts for a wide release aborted by the lack of a distributor.

Note: My colleague Brian Orndorf was evidently even less impressed with The Home than I was. You can read Brian's thoughts on the film here.

The Home Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Home is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. As of the writing of this review there's no real authoritative technical information I could find online about the shoot, and the making of EPK on the disc never really clearly shows a camera model, but this is an evocative digital capture that is explicitly described in that aforementioned EPK as being "low contrast" and "dirty" looking, both of which may provide occasional obstacles for videophiles wanting their imagery to be crystal clear and gorgeously defined. The self-described "soft" aspects to the cinematography are probably most evident in the flashback material as well as a number of almost sepia toned interior shots, some of which can look downright fuzzy at times, while some of the outdoor material and even brightly lit scenes in the retirement home offer better clarity and consistent fine detail levels. The 4K release offers HDR (no Dolby Vision that my player identified) that does offer some really evocative highlights in some of the aggressively graded material, including some almost cobalt blue scenes on the "forbidden floor", but the palette is generally quite effectively vibrant (if often deliberately "wintry") in this 1080 presentation.

The Home Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Home features an appropriately spooky Dolby Atmos track that offers generous immersion at times but which probably relies too often on startle effects and jump cuts with bursts of LFE to up the angst levels. It seems patently obvious to me that Nathan Whitehead based his score on both Christopher Komeda's iconic work on Rosemary's Baby and Jerry Goldsmith's somewhat similar approach toward The Omen, with "Satanic chants" hallucinogenically filling the surround channels. Scenes both inside the home and on the grounds regularly offer engagement of the side and rear channels for various effects. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Home Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentary with Director James DeMonaco and Producer Sebastien K. Lemercier


• Seeing is Believing: Making The Home (HD; 10:22) is a standard issue EPK with some decent behind the scenes footage and interviews.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 1:52)

Note: This review is based on the 1080 disc included in Lionsgate Limited's exclusive 4K release. It looks like this standalone 1080 release offers digital and DVD copies, with packaging that features a slipcover.

The Home Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Home can't quite "get there" in terms of providing a clear narrative and motivations for an increasingly bizarre and ultimately ridiculous plot. Davidson is probably miscast here, but the supporting cast is often quite effective, if just as frequently playing to the second balcony (to use a theatrical terms of art, considering the background of many of those performers). Technical merits are generally quite impressive for anyone considering making a purchase.