Homebodies – 1974
Director
Larry Yust

Writers
Howard Kaminsky
Bennett Sims
Larry Yust

Producer
Marshall Backlar producer

Cast
Douglas Fowley – Mr. Crawford
Ruth McDevitt – Mrs. Loomis
Frances Fuller – Miss Emily
Ian Wolfe – Mr. Loomis
William Hansen – Mr. Sandy
Paula Trueman – Mattie
William ‘Billy’ Benedict – Watchman
Peter Brocco – Mr. Blakely
John Craig – Construction Worker
Norman Gottschalk – Superintendent
Michael Johnson – Policeman
Wesley Lau – Foreman
Linda Marsh – Miss Pollack
Eldon Quick – Insurance Inspector
Kenneth Tobey – Construction Boss

Review by Sven Soetemans

A must see 70’s gem!,

A moody old song sets the right tone for what actually is a vastly underrated and extremely fun horror gem. “Homebodies” handles about a group of old folks banned from their houses and forced to abandon their familiar neighborhood in order to make way for new building projects. The drama this type of events causes is real but the emotions and action taken by these elderly are, of course, far over the top and deliciously absurd. The last mind strong tenants of an apartment complex go on a merciless killing spree and make everyone who tries to exile them disappear. Before turning into a complete pitch black comedy, “Homebodies” has a quite tension level and even an unsettling atmosphere at times. As illogical and exaggerated the premise may sound, these old folks look far scarier than any other serial-slasher in a funny mask.

The character development of this film is simply great. Every single one of these mums ‘n dads is intriguing, like the spooky blind guy or the lady who still talks to her long-deceased father. There are a few nice and bloody make-up effects and an endless amount of efficient black humor. Near the end, the story regretfully (and maybe even inevitably) loses some of its terrific initial impact as the female lead, played by Paula Trueman, turns entirely senile. The whole film turns senile with her… Still, “Homebodies” ought to get more praise and recognition from the cult-chasing horror fans!

Recommended highly!

Homebodies (1974)

Review by Wayne Malin

Different,
I found this movie under the Comedy section of Blockbusters (God knows why…it should be in Horror) about 10 years ago. It looked interesting so I rented it. It’s certainly different. It’s about a bunch of elderly people turning into killers to prevent their building from being torn down. The acting is pretty good and the killings are pretty scary (but within a PG rating)…but this is treated as a comedy. I found nothing funny about the situation at all. And when they start killing each other off over nothing the movie went too far. Lousy ending too.

Still, it’s worth catching if you want to see something different and the acting is quite good from the entire cast.