Whanganui Chronicle
  • Whanganui Chronicle home
  • Latest news
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Sport
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology

Locations

  • Taranaki
  • National Park
  • Whakapapa
  • Ohakune
  • Raetihi
  • Taihape
  • Marton
  • Feilding
  • Palmerston North

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • New Plymouth
  • Whanganui
  • Palmertson North
  • Levin

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Whanganui Chronicle / Lifestyle

Movie review: Housebound

By Kiri Gillespie
NZME. regionals·
11 Sep, 2014 09:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Morgana O'Reilly plays Kylie in Housebound. PHOTO/TRIGGER ENTERTAINMENT

Morgana O'Reilly plays Kylie in Housebound. PHOTO/TRIGGER ENTERTAINMENT

Housebound
(R13) 120 minutes

Housebound

is a movie like no other.

It's not really a horror movie and it's not a continuous laugh-out-loud comedy gag. But it is brilliant.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

When an angry and obnoxious Kylie (Morgana O'Reilly) gets sent to home detention with sweet but naive mum Miriam (Rima Te Wiata) following a bungled bank robbery, she thinks things couldn't get much worse.

But then she becomes the target of creepy and strange happenings.

Whether it is ghostly hauntings or something more sinister, no one is too sure.

Fortunately, or unfortunately for her, Kylie's probation officer Amos (Glen-Paul Waru) also dabbles in pro-bono supernatural investigation.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

And so the story unfolds, with a few surprises.

Kylie makes for a great anti-hero, with plenty of spunk to take on what comes, while the adorable Te Wiata and hilarious Waru offer plenty of entertainment.

A scene involving a corkscrew and the local police force had me in stitches while cringing terribly at the same time. But that's the magic with this film.

A witty and clever script keeps things rolling and fresh, and there is plenty of fodder for horror hounds.

Housebound director Gerard Johnson has done an amazing job of meshing thrills and laughs.  PHOTO/TRIGGER ENTERTAINMENT
Housebound director Gerard Johnson has done an amazing job of meshing thrills and laughs. PHOTO/TRIGGER ENTERTAINMENT

Director Gerard Johnstone has done an amazing job of somehow meshing thrills and laughs - an area that could have too easily been a flop.

Housebound is a refreshing and utterly delightful Kiwi film which is difficult to compare to any other.

I loved it.

Watch the trailer for Housebound below:

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
OpinionGareth Carter

Gareth Carter: Plant now for Christmas colour

Premium
OpinionGareth Carter

Gareth Carter: Growing potatoes in Whanganui

Premium
OpinionGareth Carter

Gardening: Pruning deciduous fruit trees and roses


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

Premium
Premium
Gareth Carter: Plant now for Christmas colour
OpinionGareth Carter

Gareth Carter: Plant now for Christmas colour

Comment: It may be the middle of winter but it's time to plant lilies and other bulbs.

18 Jul 05:00 PM
Premium
Premium
Gareth Carter: Growing potatoes in Whanganui
OpinionGareth Carter

Gareth Carter: Growing potatoes in Whanganui

11 Jul 04:00 PM
Premium
Premium
Gardening: Pruning deciduous fruit trees and roses
OpinionGareth Carter

Gardening: Pruning deciduous fruit trees and roses

04 Jul 04:00 PM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Whanganui Chronicle e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Whanganui Chronicle
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • NZME Events
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP