Watch Home Movies

'Home Movies' is a film that utilizes the 'documentary' style of film making to tell the story of a family's crisis in regards to their twin son and daughter's violent and maniacal behavior. The Poe family is a basic middle class family; mother, father and twin son and daughter. Claire Poe is a psychologist and husband David is a Lutheran minister; and then there is son, Jack and daughter, Emily who aren't your typical children.

It seems that Jack and Emily have begun acting out in very violent and cruel ways, leaving their parents questioning what their options are. Claire, who recently purchased a camcorder for use in her patient sessions, has decided to use the camera instead to document her children's cruel and horrible behaviors. The couple's hopes seem to be that by recording the children's behavior there may be some way of finding help for their desperate situation.

The movie begins in a somewhat calm manner, but as the film progresses we see some of what the parents are so concerned about. In what seems like innocent enough play to begin with, Jack suddenly takes the opportunity to hurl a rock at his father's face during some innocent outdoor play, with no explanation for the action. Not to be outdone, during a seemingly tender moment with her mother that seems as if it may yield some hope for the girl's reformation, Emily suddenly viciously slaughters a frog in front of her mother.

The children's actions become more and more horrific. At their wits ends Claire and David sit down to have a conversation regarding the children's actions and finally admit to themselves and to each other that these actions are nothing new, the children have been acting in this manner for quite sometime, but Claire and David have been denying that fact. Now they feel their only option is to document their children's actions, as they continuously hope.