Home with a View of the Monster: An Underrated Beauty

Rita and Dennis return from vacation to their lakeside home that they had been renting out in their absence. However, something isn’t quite right. The house lies empty and the renter’s bags remain. As the couple tries unsuccessfully to contact their tenant, they find more and more evidence that something mysterious and disturbing took place there. As they discuss the strange events from the dock, they detect a man with an axe over his shoulder slipping into the back of their home. Frightened for their lives, the couple prepares for the worst, but they could not have anticipated what was about to come next.

The Brothers Greenlee

The existence of this film is almost as mysterious as its plot. It flew under the radar for most of its production and met an only tiny fan base upon release. With its low budget and unknown cast, it didn’t catch as much attention as it deserved. The three Greenlee brothers produced a terrific and terrifying tribute to horror.

Directed by Alex and Todd Greenlee, written by Alex and Adam Greenlee, edited by Todd Greenlee, and produced by the three collectively, you can tell what a passion project this must have been. These three have produced several well received short films, but this is their first feature length film. While all three brothers currently reside in Los Angeles, they returned home to Oklahoma to premiere Home with a View of the Monster at the deadCenter Film Festival.

Pass or Fail?

The strengths of this film are found in the stunning cinematography and visuals. They have an incredible use of space. The location is absolutely beautiful, and they definitely maximize on it. The actors, while lesser known, do their very best with what they are given. Unfortunately, the characters are written rather dislikable, which is a shame because it’s clear the cast had a lot to offer. The supporting characters abound in a series of unjustifiable behavior.

The actors, while lesser known, do their very best with what they are given

Many of their decisions do not make sense as far as character development, and seem to be purely for the purpose of propelling the plot forward. Some fan reviews suggested that if the movie was a short film, they could have told the story without some of the contrived elements that add to the length. Regardless, for the first feature length film, it is clear that these brothers are abounding in technical talent, and with some refining to their writing skills, they could really become a force to be reckoned with.

You can watch Home with a View of the Monster online.