[FrightFest 2026]: Home Bodies

Emma and Ian Ho as Red and Blue

Questioning their place in the world and pushing back against authority is all part and parcel of growing up, but what happens if a child’s whole life has existed within a single abode with nothing but a voice they call Papa overseeing them? This scenario is explored in director Casey Walker’s Home Bodies, which internationally premieres at this year’s FrightFest.

Red and Blue (played by real life siblings Emma and Ian Ho) are twins who have lived their whole lives adhering to the same schedule day in and day out. They wake to a breakfast and one episode of a barnyard children’s show on vhs, play games, colour, eat dinner, and then retire to bed, all to do it again the next day. Keeping a watchful eye over them is the looming, and seemingly omnipresent, Papa, who is a voice that they communicate with in a separate room. On Noel, they are gifted a new friend called Pal who begins to disrupt their routine and causes them to reassess everything they know, leading on to a startling discovery for both of the children.

Red and Blue

Home Bodies introduces two children growing up in a regimented and sterile environment, everything is planned for them and what they consume, both nourishment and entertainment is strictly controlled. And whilst there is a slight hint that Red is the more rebellious of the two, it's not until an outside influence is added into the equation, that we soon see how a previously harmonious way of life can be fractured. The film perfectly captures how detrimental it can be to shield children from real life, and the inevitability of them discovering the truth for themselves. 

Blue goes down to the basement

The sterility of the environment and the initial set up is in stark contrast to the downfall of the controlled circumstances, with violent and shocking images displayed on newly discovered VHS tapes, as well as maggot infested garbage rooms dwelling in the lower foundations, providing symbolism of a crumbling “perfect” society. Home Bodies is an uncomfortable and disconcerting watch, set in a strange and dystopian universe, that is unfortunately let down slightly by a bland ending that seemed like a quick fix to a much needed conclusion. The film could have done with diving ever deeper into disturbing territory, especially when connected to the imprisonment and control of children, and on a wider scale, society itself. 

3 Screams out of 5