Don’t Leave Home opens with a haunting prologue that doesn’t just set the stage for a startling reveal later on, but it sets in the kind of quiet, Irish-gothic mood. It’s understated, but effective, and it lingers within you for the rest of the film. The prologue is also done in a 4:3 aspect ratio, complete with heavy film grain, which is similar to the 60s aesthetics that gave The Devil’s Doorway such a distinctive look and style, but unlike that film, this one doesn’t stay in that format, expanding the image to a wider frame once we meet our protagonist.
The film follows Melanie (Anna Margaret Hollyman), an American artist, who has made a name for herself with dioramas inspired by a disappearance – which is covered in the prologue – and one day, she is contacted by the estate of Alistair Burke (Lalor Roddy), a former priest and painter who is connected to that disappearance. He offers to buy her piece as well as an original piece that he wishes to sell at auction, which is too good of a deal for her to say no to. She is flown to Ireland where she meets Shelly (Helena Bereen – who oddly enough was also in The Devil’s Doorway), the strange and domineering head of Burke’s estate. Once in the extravagant home in the middle of the vast empty Irish countryside, things take a weird turn.
With films like The Devil’s Doorway and The Nun, it seems filmmakers are starting to remember that the wicked manifestations of Christian, and perhaps more specific – Catholic, guilt and anxiety feeds into a lot of systemic horrors that are still being brought to the open, and given the presence and history of the religion, there is a lot to mine, even if it is on superficial terms. Don’t Leave Home sets itself apart from those other horror films I mentioned, and it does so with confidence and efficiency.
The film is an effective mood piece, one that may not be high in dread as much as it is in uneasiness and anxious. Even before we get a lot of those creepy imagery we expect, there are so many immediate red flags that keep you on your toes. As Melanie settles into the home, there are shades of Suspiria, Get Out, and it wouldn’t shock me if Nicolas Roeg and Roman Polanski were influences for writer/director, Michael Tully, as he was putting this together.
Cinematographer, Wyatt Garfield, and composer, Michael Montes, really make the most out of the material. Garfield captures the beauty of the Irish countryside, which is full of lush blues and greens, but manages to bring a softly sinister vibe, as if there’s something in the frame you should watch out for, even if there’s nothing there. Montes doesn’t overdo the music, being totally in tune to the understated quality that Tully is going for, but when his music kicks in, it really adds a lot to the eerie images and the use of instruments connected to the country, it brings a sense of authenticity to the proceedings as well.
Performances are really solid all around. Anna Margaret Hollyman has to do a lot with her face, since the film isn’t one to explain everything that’s going on, so it is almost always up to her to express emotions, ideas, and feelings to the audience through these close-ups that ooze of desperation and apprehension. Helena Bareen offers a different take on a similarly intimidating performance she did in The Devil’s Doorway, and she also gets to show a wider range for her character, especially as more gets revealed as the film goes on. Lalor Roddy is quite good as the soft-spoken painter. He has the most significant character work in the film, despite his seemingly passive presence, but it totally works, and his performance is the reason for that.
Don’t Leave Home is a very patient, deliberate, and understated horror film whose wavelength will definitely not gel with everyone, but to me, it’s a deeply assured film, and it’s beautiful craftsmanship and solid performances are more than enough to pardon its leisurely pacing and its more seemingly inconsequential creative choices during the second act. Tully clearly has a hell of a command when it comes to tone and atmosphere, and it’s easily the film’s biggest strength. I’m not entirely convinced – upon first viewing, at least – that there are greater thematic ambitions at play, but it is refreshing to see filmmakers veer away from the same old techniques and tricks, and attempt a more quietly challenging and thoughtful angle at this material. If that sounds like it’s up your alley, give it a watch.