Home Bodies (2026)
Screening as part of the 2026 Fantasia Film Festival, Casey Walker's Home Bodies takes place in a futuristic dystopian world where a pair of young kids, a boy named Blue (Ian Ho) and a girl named Red (Emma Ho), are raised in isolation, with their only contact being a mysterious voice that comes from behind a mysterious door that has always been locked. In the house, Blue and Red go about their lives, carefully obeying the rules given to them by this voice, whom they call Papa, and watching videotapes left for them. Suddenly, things radically change as they are given a new person to take care of named Pal (Ess Hödlmoser). Pal has seemingly no identity or personality, watching Blue and Red as they grow increasingly confused and frustrated by Pal's presence and the lack of answers from the voice caring for them.
The setup for Home Bodies is great. Largely thanks to the uncanny production design from Chareese Steinhoff, the film is deeply uncomfortable in its world-building. While Blue and Red's home and routine nearly seem normal, there is just enough off that the viewer reacts to this world with the perfect level of distress. The film is totally confident in how it explains the situation, allowing the viewer to pick up on the routine that the kids go through and notice things that expand their understanding of what is going on. For example, the film opens with Blue and Red playing a game of catch, with Red accidentally breaking something in the process. The kids debate whether they should tell the voice about this, with Blue being adamant that Papa will find out as he always does. Immediately, there is a clear threat felt because of the way Blue talks and the lack of ability to keep secrets or have privacy. This only worsens when they do tell Papa; it tells Blue to remind Red of the consequences of breaking something, which Blue does by revealing a scar on his hand. This segment, among others, does not give the audience all of the answers or the entire picture, but instead gives just enough for the audience to play with in their minds.
Both Ian Ho and Emma Ho are key to selling this reality, having no one else to play off of. Not only is their shared chemistry great, casting real siblings was a genius move to ensure this, but their individual arcs are equally well handled by each performer. As the twists and turns of the film occur, both siblings have very different views of how they should handle each situation, creating friction and vastly different paths for each. As Red wants to take more control and make her own decisions, Blue is quick to run back to Papa and try to appease him to avoid personal punishment. These are well-thought-out characters that act logically for who they are.
The introduction of Pal is also an intriguing push for each character. In the best of ways, Hödlmoser plays a blank slate as they are thrown to Blue and Red, who try to understand and find Pal's identity. While Blue feels like they should leave Pal alone, Red takes a more forceful hand, giving Pal her clothes and bed. Initially, this sparks a worthy basis for a conversation on modern identity as Pal is forced to take the appearance and persona assigned to them. Just as Blue and Red have lost their autonomy due to the conditions of how they have been raised, they, as caretakers, have done the same to Pal.
This is a great start for a film, building a world filled with natural hooks and deeper thoughts that seem rewarding to engage with. Sadly, as the film continues, the focus grows more and more on the practical sci-fi dystopian plot taking place rather than creating heightened situations to further explore these deeper themes. As the runtime goes on and the film expands its focus more and more, the results grow weaker and weaker. Not only are the answers given quite generic and weak, but they feel completely unnecessary. It feels like Home Bodies could have learned lessons from other successful dystopian works to find a stronger balance between its different sides, as the direction it chooses is the least interesting option it has.
Narratively, the plot also begins to drastically slow down after its first act. While the first act has multiple big twists and turns, the rest of the film is far more subdued in its big reveals, failing to capture the interest of the audience in the same way that it does at its start. The conflict begins to feel repetitive, and it is frustrating to see every strong question be ultimately responded to by a weak answer. By the end, it feels like Home Bodies has nearly completely fallen apart, letting down its incredible promise.
The setup for Home Bodies is great. Largely thanks to the uncanny production design from Chareese Steinhoff, the film is deeply uncomfortable in its world-building. While Blue and Red's home and routine nearly seem normal, there is just enough off that the viewer reacts to this world with the perfect level of distress. The film is totally confident in how it explains the situation, allowing the viewer to pick up on the routine that the kids go through and notice things that expand their understanding of what is going on. For example, the film opens with Blue and Red playing a game of catch, with Red accidentally breaking something in the process. The kids debate whether they should tell the voice about this, with Blue being adamant that Papa will find out as he always does. Immediately, there is a clear threat felt because of the way Blue talks and the lack of ability to keep secrets or have privacy. This only worsens when they do tell Papa; it tells Blue to remind Red of the consequences of breaking something, which Blue does by revealing a scar on his hand. This segment, among others, does not give the audience all of the answers or the entire picture, but instead gives just enough for the audience to play with in their minds.
Both Ian Ho and Emma Ho are key to selling this reality, having no one else to play off of. Not only is their shared chemistry great, casting real siblings was a genius move to ensure this, but their individual arcs are equally well handled by each performer. As the twists and turns of the film occur, both siblings have very different views of how they should handle each situation, creating friction and vastly different paths for each. As Red wants to take more control and make her own decisions, Blue is quick to run back to Papa and try to appease him to avoid personal punishment. These are well-thought-out characters that act logically for who they are.
The introduction of Pal is also an intriguing push for each character. In the best of ways, Hödlmoser plays a blank slate as they are thrown to Blue and Red, who try to understand and find Pal's identity. While Blue feels like they should leave Pal alone, Red takes a more forceful hand, giving Pal her clothes and bed. Initially, this sparks a worthy basis for a conversation on modern identity as Pal is forced to take the appearance and persona assigned to them. Just as Blue and Red have lost their autonomy due to the conditions of how they have been raised, they, as caretakers, have done the same to Pal.
This is a great start for a film, building a world filled with natural hooks and deeper thoughts that seem rewarding to engage with. Sadly, as the film continues, the focus grows more and more on the practical sci-fi dystopian plot taking place rather than creating heightened situations to further explore these deeper themes. As the runtime goes on and the film expands its focus more and more, the results grow weaker and weaker. Not only are the answers given quite generic and weak, but they feel completely unnecessary. It feels like Home Bodies could have learned lessons from other successful dystopian works to find a stronger balance between its different sides, as the direction it chooses is the least interesting option it has.
Narratively, the plot also begins to drastically slow down after its first act. While the first act has multiple big twists and turns, the rest of the film is far more subdued in its big reveals, failing to capture the interest of the audience in the same way that it does at its start. The conflict begins to feel repetitive, and it is frustrating to see every strong question be ultimately responded to by a weak answer. By the end, it feels like Home Bodies has nearly completely fallen apart, letting down its incredible promise.