Homecoming – Review

In today’s society, many people have made a habit of stalking by way of facebook, myspace, twitter, etc. (me included—shhh!), especially stalking exes.  Morgan J. Freeman’s Homecoming shows stalking closer to home than the internet and far beyond the natural curiosity we all have upon ending a relationship.  Then again, as far as Shelby is concerned, the relationship never ended.

Football star, Mike Donaldson (Matt Long), returns home from prestigious Northwestern University to retire his high school jersey and introduce his new girlfriend, Elizabeth (Jessica Stroup), to his family, friends, and the place he grew up; however, he takes his washed-up homecoming queen ex by surprise—Shelby (Mischa Barton) thinks they are still together, and she has been the picture of a perfect girlfriend, patiently awaiting his return.  Her desperation slowly but surely becomes apparent, and she makes drastic moves to get her man back.

Homecoming gave me the creeps, and I loved it!  Granted, I scare easy, but there was a nice balance of mental instability, evil popping out from corners, and gore and blood.  I’ve been watching a Harper’s Island marathon via Netflix, and this movie was a nice break between episodes that stayed consistent with the Harper’s Island vibe, if you’re into that stuff like I am.  I appreciated that it was not a lame attempt at trying way too hard to scare the bajeezus out of me.

There is a great moment with Mischa Barton and a gun that must have come straight out of an old silent movie.  It is my favorite moment of the film… right up there with the ending.  If you aren’t a fan of endings that are not wrapped up with a big fluffy, bow, maybe this movie isn’t for you, but if you think you can handle a movie that just lets your imagination wonder a little tiny bit at the end, then give it a try.

All in all, I enjoyed Homecoming.  I’m more scared of Mischa Barton than ever and I’ll be very careful in the future with my exes.  Lesson learned.

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