''Home Sweet Home'' (also known as ''Slasher in the House'') is a 1981 American

slasher film A slasher film is a genre of horror films involving a killer stalking and murdering a group of people, usually by use of bladed or sharp tools like knife, chainsaw, scalpel, etc. Although the term "slasher" may occasionally be used informally as a ...

directed by Nettie Peña, and written by Thomas Bush. It stars

Jake Steinfeld Jake Steinfeld (born February 21, 1958) is an American actor, fitness personality, entrepreneur, and producer. He develops businesses through the "Body by Jake" brand. Early life Born in the Sea Gate neighborhood of Brooklyn, Steinfeld was rais ...

, Peter De Paula, and

Vinessa Shaw Vinessa Elizabeth Shaw (born July 19, 1976) is an American film actress and model. She began her career as a child actor, and had her breakout role in Disney's 1993 Halloween comedy-fantasy film '' Hocus Pocus''. Shaw also appeared in ''Ladybu ...

in her film debut, and the plot focuses on a PCP-addicted killer who terrorizes a family in their remote home on

Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Liberia, and unofficially in countries like Brazil and Philippines. It is also observed in the Netherlander town of Leiden and ...

. Along with '' Blood Rage'' and the faux ''Thanksgiving'' trailer from ''

Grindhouse A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a fil ...

'', it is one of the few slasher films centered on the Thanksgiving holiday, and one of the few to be directed by a woman. While not prosecuted for obscenity, the film was seized and confiscated in the UK under Section 3 of the

Obscene Publications Act 1959 The Obscene Publications Act 1959 (c. 66) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom Parliament that significantly reformed the law related to obscenity in England and Wales. Prior to the passage of the Act, the law on publishing obscene mater ...

during the

video nasty Video nasty is a colloquial term popularised by the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (NVALA) in the United Kingdom to refer to a number of films, typically low-budget horror or exploitation films, distributed on video cassette that ...

panic.

Plot

A parked motorist is strangled by escaped mental patient Jay Jones, a PCP addict who was institutionalized after bludgeoning his parents. Jay carjacks his victim, and runs down an old woman while driving through

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. On the outskirts of the city, nine people have gathered to celebrate

at the

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

of Harold Bradley. Among the revelers are Harold's girlfriend Linda; his tenant Scott and his girlfriend Jennifer; Linda's friend Gail; Harold's business associate Wayne and his girlfriend Maria; Harold's son "Mistake," a

Kiss Army The KISS Army is the official fan club for the American rock band Kiss (band), Kiss, as well as the unofficial name used to refer to Kiss fans in general. It was started unofficially in 1975 by Bill Starkey and Jay Evans. The membership form di ...

soldier; and Harold's young daughter Angel. As there is no wine in the house, Linda and Gail borrow Scott's car to go and get some, while Jay cuts off the house's power. Harold turns on the emergency generator, leaves to get more gasoline for it, and happens upon Jay's abandoned

station wagon A station wagon ( US, also wagon) or estate car ( UK, also estate), is an automotive body-style variant of a sedan/saloon with its roof extended rearward over a shared passenger/cargo volume with access at the back via a third or fifth door ( ...

. As Harold tries to take the battery out of the car, Jay body splashes on the hood down on him, crushing his skull. Jay severs the telephone line, and when Wayne goes out to look for Harold, he is

garrote A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and similar variants''Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spellin ...

d by Jay, who was hiding in the backseat of his car. Linda and Gail, who had become lost, run out of gas, and as they try to find their way back to the ranch, they run into Jay. Jay slams Gail's head into a rock, and stabs Linda to death with a broken bottle. Afterward, Jay returns to the house, where the remaining guests and members of the Bradley family have sat down to a turkey dinner. When Maria goes to the washroom, Jay stabs her, and proceeds to chase "Mistake" around the property, eventually catching and fatally shocking him with his own electric guitar and portable

amplifier An amplifier, electronic amplifier or (informally) amp is an electronic device that can increase the magnitude of a signal (a time-varying voltage or current). It may increase the power significantly, or its main effect may be to boost the v ...

. Scott discovers Maria's body while collecting firewood, runs back to the ranch, and secures the building with Jennifer and Angel. Jay manages to break inside, and as he tries strangling Scott, Jennifer wounds him with a knife. Jay recovers, slits Scott's throat, and pursues Jennifer, who faints while hiding in Scott's room. In the morning, Jennifer awakens, and is assaulted by Jay when she ventures outside. A pair of police officers, alerted to the situation by Angel, pull up, and blast Jay with a

shotgun A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...

. As one officer places Jennifer in his car with Angel, the other checks on Jay, who suddenly opens his eyes.

Cast

as Jay Jones *

as Angel Bradley * Peter De Paula as "Mistake" Bradley * Don Edmonds as Harold Bradley * Charles Hoyes as Wayne * David Mielke as Scott * Leia Naron as Gail * Lisa Rodríguez as Maria * Colette Trygg as Jennifer * Sallee Young as Linda * J. Kelly as Officer Jim * R. Fouts as Officer Tom * Victor Paddock as First Victim * Rochelle Constanten as Old Woman * Anne Cribbs as Witness

Reception

Retro Slashers wrote, "The film has heart. Sure, it's a kind of mindless and confused heart, but the acting is decent and there's a real feeling that the filmmakers were shooting for something". A 1 out of a possible 5 was awarded by Hysteria Lives!, which opined that "''Home Sweet Home'' is a truly terrible movie. It's bad to the very core; but if you are in just the right mood and you're an aficionado of

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

then you might get a few kicks out of this fetid stinker". Film Bizarro deemed the film an obnoxious mess that was filled with annoying and stupid characters, awful attempts at comedy, poorly done gore, and a complete lack of originality or successful horror. Critical Condition found that ''Home Sweet Home'' was "one cop-out after another" marred by poor lighting and an antagonist who "

hams Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

it up so badly, you half expect bacon to fly off the screen". Film historian Adam Rockoff wrote of the film: "For being so irredeemably terrible, ''Home Sweet Home'' has a strangely compelling pedigree... I've heard that star Steinfeld has no sense of humor about involvement with the film, which makes watching this travesty almost worthwhile."

References

Bibliography

* *

External links

* {{IMDb title, 0082522, Home Sweet Home 1981 films 1981 independent films 1980s slasher films American slasher films 1981 horror films 1980s English-language films Films about mass murder 1981 directorial debut films American independent films Films set in country houses Films about dysfunctional families Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in Los Angeles Thanksgiving horror films 1980s American films