Homebodies (1974)

Slow pace in the most part of the movie.

Admirable film.

The first must-see film of the year.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

I watched this movie with my grandmother when I was about 6 years old. The movie was PG, so I could get away with watching it then. What a hoot! We managed to watch that movie every time we could catch it on and the last line in the movie kept us laughing for the longest: It's me, Mattie.I know that a movie about old folks killing to keep their homes may be totally horrific to today's society that salivates over brutality performed on perky-breast blonds, pencil-waist brunettes, and their associated blockhead boyfriends. The irony of "Homebodies" is that you're force to have to acknowledge those old folks for what they were doing -- whether you liked it or not. They refused to be pushed around and their tactics were crude, yet effective.Having said that, I watched it again recently and I found it just as funny, but with a better understanding. While I could say that the murders were truly without warrant, they were in better context than what you see in most slasher flicks nowadays, where the killings are for shock value and good measure.

Six feisty old folks -- blind Peter Brocco, hard-working superintendent Ian Wolfe and his nagging wife Ruth McDermott, kindly writer William Hansen, agoraphobic eccentric Frances Fuller and fierce, formidable old battle ax Paula Trueman -- refuse to leave their crumbling tenement building despite the fact that it's going to be demolished to make way for expensive high-rise apartment complexes. The extremely loyal, hidebound and resourceful over-the-hill group resort to murder so they can remain in their beloved brownstone, bumping off a condescending young woman social worker, a greedy jerk land developer and various hapless construction workers who are victims of random fatal "accidents."Director/co-writer Larry Yust, who also helmed the bang-up funky blaxploitation blast "Trick Baby," fashions this absorbingly off-kilter plot into a delightfully quirky and deadpan black comic horror oddity, skillfully alternating between shocking moments of brutal violence and inspired bits of uproarious wackiness in a deft, screwy, throwaway style which proves to be both amusingly nutty and occasionally quite unnerving in comparable measure. The murder set pieces are truly jolting and the climactic poky last reel paddle boat chase sequence is nothing short of brilliant. Better still, Yust shows a genuine warmth and compassion for the elderly, scoring points for his incisive critique of our society's gross disregard for senior citizens and how said elderly are among those luckless and powerless people who often don't benefit a bit from progress and urban renewal. Brocco, Wolfe, McDermott, Hansen, Fuller and especially the marvelously sassy and sprightly Trueman (who was also great as Sondra Locke's redoubtable granny in "The Outlaw Josey Wales") all give lively, colorful, thoroughly engaging and touchingly dignified performances as the shrewd, lethal, lovably stubborn and indomitable geriatric protagonists. Beautifully photographed in the rundown Cincinnati slums by Isidore Mankofsky, this splendidly singular and whimsical fright film tale of inner city blight and the resilience of the elderly rates as a definite fabulously off-beat and original must-see sleeper.

A moody old song sets the right tone for what actually is a vastly underrated and extremely fun horror gem. "Homebodies" handles about a group of old folks banned from their houses and forced to abandon their familiar neighborhood in order to make way for new building projects. The drama this type of events causes is real but the emotions and action taken by these elderly are, of course, far over the top and deliciously absurd. The last mind strong tenants of an apartment complex go on a merciless killing spree and make everyone who tries to exile them disappear. Before turning into a complete pitch black comedy, "Homebodies" has a quite tension level and even an unsettling atmosphere at times. As illogical and exaggerated the premise may sound, these old folks look far scarier than any other serial-slasher in a funny mask. The character development of this film is simply great. Every single one of these mums 'n dads is intriguing, like the spooky blind guy or the lady who still talks to her long-deceased father. There are a few nice and bloody make-up effects and an endless amount of efficient black humor. Near the end, the story regretfully (and maybe even inevitably) loses some of its terrific initial impact as the female lead, played by Paula Trueman, turns entirely senile. The whole film turns senile with her… Still, "Homebodies" ought to get more praise and recognition from the cult-chasing horror fans! Recommended highly!

I was surprised at how clever and darkly humorous this film actually was. It's wonderfully cast, beautifully acted, and totally different from most movies out there. A group of ederly people find that they will go to any extreme to keep their apartment building from being torn down. Led by a their motivated, stop at nothing, leader Maddie they take out any obstacle that gets in their way. It has a surprise ending that I was shocked to see. A really great movie. If you want a strange, witty, twisted and funny movie definitly rent this. Unless you can find a resonably priced used copy, then you should definitly buy it!