Homestead

The beauty of Homestead is that it’s not quite the movie you initially think it’s going to be. Things kick off with a nuclear bomb hitting Los Angeles, sending the entire country into a panic. When this occurs, former Green Beret Jeff Eriksson (Bailey Chase) puts his family in the truck and drives to “The Homestead,” a massive complex hidden in the mountains. Its owner, Ian Ross (Neal McDonough), has been prepping for this day. He’s got a private security force, a huge garden to grow food, and a warehouse full of rations. As a friend and colleague, Ian welcomes Jeff with open arms.

I’ll admit rolling my eyes once the premise was established. Everything seemed in place for a nutty diatribe about how the world is going to end and only the people smart enough to stockpile weapons and food will be safe. Thankfully, the plot that seems as though it’s going to be pro-doomsday preppers goes a different route, recognizing that there are complications to this sort of hyper-readiness.

Homestead evolves into a tense thriller that intelligently deals with moral issues. For starters, Ian doesn’t want to let in the scared, hungry people gathering outside his gate, due to fear that they’ll deplete the food supply. His wife Jenna (Dawn Olivieri) encourages him – often to no avail – to take the more Christian approach of helping those in need. Later, a supporting character is pressured to shoot someone Jeff perceives to be a threat to the compound, leading to a subplot dealing with the psychological ramifications of paranoia-driven violence. Angles like these make the movie far more engrossing than if it had attempted to sermonize about getting ready for Armageddon.

The film contains good performances from the ensemble cast, with the always reliable McDonough a non-surprising standout. He avoids cliché, giving Ian multiple layers so that he isn’t a single-note figure. Especially impressive is the way the actor suggests the sense of duty he feels in keeping the place running for his loved ones and guests. Hating the guy would have been easy, except that McDonough never loses sight of the humanity that drives him.

The film is well made on a technical level, too. Director Ben Smallbone is the brother of Joel and Luke Smallbone, a.k.a. the Christian rock band For King & Country. (Their story was told onscreen earlier this year in Unsung Hero.) He provides a nice pace that moves back and forth between various arcs, allowing each of them to develop meaningfully. I don’t know where this movie was filmed, but the house and the surroundings are impressive, too. You feel immersed in the location.

Notably, Homestead is the cinematic kickoff for a television series that will be available to stream on the Angel Network. For that reason, a few strands are left dangling at the end. However, the picture certainly leaves you eager to find out what happens next.


out of four

Homestead is rated PG-13 for some violence and thematic elements. The running time is 1 hour and 50 minutes.


© 2024 Mike McGranaghan