''Home Alone: The Holiday Heist'' (also known as ''Home Alone 5: The Holiday Heist'') is a 2012 American made-for-television comedy film. It is the fifth installment in the ''Home Alone'' franchise. It stars Christian Martyn, Jodelle Ferland, Malcolm McDowell, Debi Mazar, and Eddie Steeples. The film premiered on

ABC Family The American cable television, cable and satellite television network that is now known as Freeform (TV channel), Freeform was originally launched as the CBN Satellite Service on April 29, 1977, and has gone through several different owners (and s ...

(now Freeform) on November 25, 2012, during the network's annual ''Countdown to

25 Days of Christmas Freeform's 25 Days of Christmas is an American annual seasonal event of Christmas programming broadcast during the month of December by the U.S. cable network Freeform. The event was first held in 1996, and has been an annual fixture of the chann ...

'' programming block. It is the second film, after '' Home Alone 3'', not to focus on the McCallister family, although there are numerous homages to the previous films. ''Home Alone 5'' received mainly negative reviews, although it fared better than the fourth film.

Plot

The Baxter family move from California to Maine and settle into their new house during the Christmas season. 10-year-old Finn Baxter (Christian Martyn) and his older sister Alexis ( Jodelle Ferland) are

technophiles Technophilia (from Greek language, Greek τέχνη - ''technē'', "art, skill, craft" and φίλος - ''philos'', "beloved, dear, friend") refers generally to a strong enthusiasm for technology, especially new technologies such as personal com ...

who isolate themselves from their parents Curtis (Doug Murray) and Catherine ( Ellie Harvie) and the outside world. Finn is often playing video games and Alexis is often on her phone and computer. Encouraged by his dad to socialize, Finn befriends his neighbor Mason (

Peter DaCunha Peter DaCunha is a Canadian actor best known for his roles as Mason in '' Home Alone: The Holiday Heist'' (2012), Remi Vogel in Bruce McDonald's thriller film '' Hellions'' (2015) and Tyler in the acclaimed Atom Egoyan drama ''Remember'' (2015). ...

) who informs him about the legend of a smothered gangster whose ghost haunts the Baxters' new home, leaving Finn paranoid. While the family leaves their home to go Christmas shopping, a group of thieves consisting of Sinclair ( Malcolm McDowell), Jessica ( Debi Mazar), and their new safecracker Hughes ( Eddie Steeples) carry out their plan to break in and steal an old, long lost

Edvard Munch Edvard Munch ( , ; 12 December 1863 – 23 January 1944) was a Norwegian painter. His best known work, ''The Scream'' (1893), has become one of Western art's most iconic images. His childhood was overshadowed by illness, bereavement and the dr ...

painting valued at $85 million, unaware the house is occupied. They are unable to locate the painting in the basement

safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...

. As the Baxters return home, the thieves quickly flee. At night, Curtis and Catherine leave for a Christmas party hosted by Catherine's new boss, Mr. Carson ( Ed Asner). Finn and Alexis stay behind upon being grounded by their parents for their actions. Finn is not permitted to play video games and Alexis can only use her phone for emergency calls. That night, the thieves plan to return, thinking the house will be clear. Sinclair confides in Jessica and Hughes that the painting they seek is ''The Widow'', a portrait of his great-grandmother and her family that was stolen decades ago. Meanwhile, Finn adventures in the house and finds a spare controller. Searching for new

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

, he accidentally drops one into the basement. Finn has Alexis accompany him to retrieve it and they find the safe unlocked and a secret room behind it, which houses the painting Sinclair is looking for. Frightened by the portrait, Finn flees and Alexis accidentally triggers a trap and ends up locked in the room. As an ongoing snowstorm worsens, Curtis and Catherine are forced to stay at the Christmas party, worrying about their kids at home. With Alexis locked behind the safe, Finn goes shopping for supplies at a

hardware store Hardware stores (in a number of countries, "shops"), sometimes known as DIY stores, sell household hardware for home improvement including: fasteners, building materials, hand tools, power tools, keys, locks, hinges, chains, plumbing suppli ...

to break her out, only being able to afford string. After stumbling across Sinclair, he overhears the trio discuss plans to break into his house. Rushing home, Finn tells his online friend Simon (Bill Turnbull) about the situation. Finn sets up numerous

booby trap A booby trap is a device or setup that is intended to kill, harm or surprise a human or another animal. It is triggered by the presence or actions of the victim and sometimes has some form of bait designed to lure the victim towards it. The trap m ...

s around the house, including ice on the patio (a trap from the original film), a snow blower blowing marbles in the garage, a carton full of tar, a coal-filled stocking, some nasty-tasting

gingerbread Gingerbread refers to a broad category of baked goods, typically flavored with ginger, cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon and sweetened with honey, sugar, or molasses. Gingerbread foods vary, ranging from a moist loaf cake to forms nearly as crisp as ...

cookies, and cotton balls and

flour Flour is a powder made by grinding raw grains, roots, beans, nuts, or seeds. Flours are used to make many different foods. Cereal flour, particularly wheat flour, is the main ingredient of bread, which is a staple food for many culture ...

flying out of the sink. The thieves are forced to go through the booby traps, getting injured as they do so, with the glamorous Jessica getting covered in tar. Soon enough, Curtis and Catherine are able to drive home. Using Finn's

gamertag The Xbox network, formerly and still sometimes branded as Xbox Live, is an Internet, online multiplayer video game, multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft. It was first made available to the Xbox ...

and his parents' credit card details, a concerned Simon contacts them to warn about the danger their kids are in, but they suspect him and call the police on him instead. Back at the house, Sinclair, Jessica, and Hughes capture Finn and detain him in the Suburban. Sinclair and Hughes go to open the safe. Mason, however, saves Finn by throwing snowballs at the leather-clad Jessica, who is now very disheveled. She is eventually knocked out by the snowballs. Meanwhile, Sinclair and Hughes gain entry to the safe, finding the painting and Alexis, who threatens to destroy it. Finn flees and frees Alexis while triggering the trap that locks the duo in the basement, which is seen on Simon's television by the police officers who detained him. With Jessica encased inside a snowman by Mason, the police arrive to arrest the intruders. The family receives four museum passes and $30,000 as a reward for capturing the fugitives and recovering the painting. As an apology, Finn's parents send Simon a plane ticket to return home and spend Christmas with his family. On Christmas Day, Finn receives a snowboard and an expansion pack to "Robo Infantry 3". Alexis gets a tablet computer, and Finn and his dad get a camping guide. Finn decides to take a break from video games and go

snowboarding Snowboarding is a recreational and competitive activity that involves descending a snow-covered surface while standing on a snowboard that is almost always attached to a rider's feet. It features in the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympi ...

with Mason, now his best friend. The final scene shows the offenders having their mug shots taken at the police station as a female police officer splices a copy of the mug shots into a portrait.

Cast

* Christian Martyn as Finn Baxter * Jodelle Ferland as Alexis Baxter * Malcolm McDowell as Sinclair * Debi Mazar as Jessica * Eddie Steeples as Hughes * Ellie Harvie as Catherine Baxter * Doug Murray as Curtis Baxter * Ed Asner as Mr. Carson *

as Mason * Adriana O'Neil as Gabby Maranta * William Turnbull as Simon Hassler * Chris Sigurdson as Clerk * Evan Scott as Santa Claus in sleigh

Production

Originally titled ''Home Alone: Alone in the Dark'', development for the film began in March 2012 as a co-production between ABC Family and

Fox TV Studios The second incarnation of Touchstone Television (formerly known as Fox 21 Television Studios) was an American television production company that is a subsidiary of Disney Media Networks' Walt Disney Television owned by The Walt Disney Company. It ...

. Both production companies recently co-produced ''

Home Alone 4 ''Home Alone 4: Taking Back the House'' is a 2002 American made-for-television Christmas family comedy film directed by Rod Daniel, which first aired on ABC on November 3, 2002, as the first episode of the forty-seventh season of ''The Wonderful ...

'' in 2002. The film was filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

Reception

Box office

The film grossed $996,000 in home video sales.

Critical response

''Home Alone 5'' received mainly negative reviews, although it fared better than the previous installment in the series. Emily Ashby of Common Sense Media awarded the film 2 out of 5 stars, writing that although the film was a "predictable slapstick comedy", it "still delivers the laughs".

Home media

The television film was released on DVD on October 29, 2013, in the United States and Canada. It was released in Region 4 on November 12, 2014. In Region 2, the film was released in 2013 but was initially only available on downloads and online streaming and its distribution there remains mainly focused on those formats. On November 2, 2015, the film was released on DVD in the United Kingdom as part of a box set of the first five ''Home Alone'' films exclusively on

Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

. In November 2020, Disney began to feature the original ''Home Alone'' trilogy on their streaming platform service Disney+ in celebration of the first film's 30th anniversary. The fourth and fifth installments were released on HBO Max and were added to Disney+ on December 17, 2021.

References

External links

* {{ABC Family Original Movies ABC Family original films 2010s English-language films Home Alone (franchise) Films directed by Peter Hewitt Films scored by David Kitay Films set in Maine American children's comedy films 2010s children's comedy films Christmas television films Films about missing people Television sequel films American Christmas comedy films American comedy television films 2010s Christmas comedy films Films shot in Winnipeg 20th Century Fox Television films 2012 films 2010s American films