‘Home Invasion’ Movie Review [Fantasia 2023]: A Nightmarish Documentary On The Doorbell
Photo from Fantasia International Film Festival
From Jeff Nelson
Director Graeme Arnfield’s Home Invasion is an experimental documentary that explores the invention and the significance of the doorbell. This taken-for-granted technology has a compelling history that questions the transforming motives and intentions behind its evolution, navigated in a unique perspective.
The first electric doorbell was created by Joseph Henry in 1831, but technological advancements changed its function and its perception. Arnfield’s documentary traces its invention through the ages, as well as its place in society’s fear of home invasion. His experimental approach simultaneously explores how it impacted narrative cinema and our greatest fears.
Arnfield takes a look into the past of doorbell technology to analyze how we landed in the present. He takes aim at Amazon’s Ring, a home security line that produces doorbells that allow the user to capture footage of what’s happening on their doorstep. He explains its use, while heavily criticizing its purpose and effect on the human psyche. It’s invigorating, yet uncomfortable, as we’re exposed to a montage-like barrage of real-life interactions that range from skin-crawling intrusions to hilariously relatable moments, such as delivery drivers carelessly throwing packages on a residential porch.
Home Invasion gives the notion of a physical break-in, but it’s actually more about the psychological intrusion that comes with surveillance. Arnfield makes this point with real-life and fictional examples, putting together a wide array of horror movie clips from the home invasion sub-genre. If nothing else, it serves as a list of recommended watches for those with an interest in the subject matter. However, this collection of clips is only one example of how this documentary fragments itself into less compelling places, shattering the eerie reality of it all.
Home Invasion has no talking heads or spoken dialogue apart from the second-hand footage, investing in on-screen font that’s slightly distorted by the fish-eye illusion at work. The entire frame is dark, aside from a peep-hole through which the audience gazes at various recorded footage, images, and the aforementioned font. It’s supported by eerie music and ambient noise of rummaging that gives the uneasy feeling of an unwelcome visitor.
Arnfield approaches a simple, yet fascinating subject that loses itself toward its conclusion. However, there’s a certain discomfort that comes with this documentary that makes it stand out from the crowd. Home Invasion is a scrappy documentary that digs into the ghastly terrors that perturb the one place we deem safe.
Rating: 3/5
Home Invasion played at Fantasia 2023 on July 29th, 2023.
