‘The Home’ Director James DeMonaco Talks Working With Pete Davidson In His Latest Horror Film
James DeMonaco is best known as the creator of The Purge franchise, an unfortunately timely series about fascism, violence, and survival. But more recently, he’s branching out into other realms of the horror world, especially with his latest film, The Home, starring Pete Davidson. Here, DeMonaco and his writing partner, Adam Cantor, let loose and craft a narrative full of bizarre twists and turns that culminates in one helluva finale.
Read the film’s full synopsis below:
A rebellious twentysomething is sentenced to community service at a quiet retirement home. The residents on the fourth floor are strictly off-limits, said to require “special care.” As his suspicions grow and he digs deeper, he uncovers a chilling secret that puts both the residents’ lives and his own in grave danger.
We spoke with DeMonaco about infusing Staten Island into The Home, clam pie, and how Yoga With Adriene inspired his latest foray into the horror world.
Dread Central: Congratulations on The Home! How are you feeling?
James DeMonaco: I feel good. You never know. You never have any idea how people are going to receive your film and whatnot. I can always continue editing, but I’m happy with it. I love those last 25 minutes. I hope people get to see that last 25.
DC: This is such a deviation from The Purge. So, where did this idea come from, and are you inherently afraid of the idea of aging?
JD: It’s interesting, that’s the first time someone asked me that. I think my writing partner is definitely afraid of aging. Where it came from, though, was, I dunno if you remember, in early COVID, it was a strange time obviously for all of us. And Adam and I were in the same pod or bubble. His kids played with my kids, so they were the only other family I saw.
So we were discussing films in our backyard. He’s a writer. I’m a writer. And then there was a lot of stuff in the news about elderly care facilities during the pandemic. I think that was in our psyche. Simultaneously, my wife wanted me to start yoga because I’m a very unhealthy person. [Laughs]
And she’s like, “You need to counter your unhealthy eating and drinking and start doing yoga.” I’m like, “Yoga really?” She’s like, “You need to be limber, too.” I don’t know why I do these things, but I did it for her. So this is where it got interesting is I started yoga on YouTube.
DC: Wait, was it Yoga with Adriene?
JD: Yes, Yoga with Adriene!!
DC: She’s everything.
JD: She is the best. Best. She’s my favorite person. Yeah, she changed my life. That’s so funny. Yoga with Adriene during COVID. I do wonder how many of us are out there. [Laughs]
But then my feed, my YouTube feed, as yours may have, Mary Beth, became inundated with supplement videos and longevity videos.
DC: Yes, it’s so creepy.
JD: I started going down a little rabbit hole here. And I started going into this longevity world, which I saw as an obsession. So there were the elder care facilities in the news, Adam and I having some strange experiences when we were young with family members in elder care facilities, and then what I saw on the YouTube feed. Then I have some specific thoughts on climate change. I tried to weave that into the story, and that became the sociopolitical commentary underneath everything.
DC: I was actually going to ask about that. I know that you’re from Staten Island, so I was curious if Hurricane Sandy or any of the hurricanes that have hit the area had an influence on The Home.
JD: Yeah, Sandy really ruined my neighborhood here. It’s where Pete [Davidson] grew up. So Pete’s right down the street from where I am.
We lost trees. My house stayed, thank God, but two houses away, it was an older house, but it literally blew away. It was the strangest thing. It’s called the Annex. It was kind of a weird bar house and it literally was gone the next day. So that was definitely part of it.
I always wondered, since I try to do a lot for climate change and study climate change, I started wondering about storms, storm systems, and how they’re going to change in the future. My daughter had just been born at the time of Sandy, so I was wondering about her future and what previous generations had done to the new generation.
[The Home] is all about generations. What the previous generation is leaving and doing to the planet. Then, without giving away what’s happening in the movie, what’s being done to some of the people in the movie is a metaphor for what’s being done to the planet.
DC: I also love the Staten Island Pizza rat shirt, and I just love how you infused Staten Island into The Home. Was that really important for you as a writer, just to speak about your town, your region, where you’re from?
JD: I think so. I think we all realize, even Pete, that it’s such a unique, strange place. Pete and I were joking; we always say it’s like 1983 here. It’s old, it hasn’t moved. There’s a great line in Sex in the City where Miranda comes to Staten Island and says, “It’s like being in a European country from the 1970s.” [Laughs] And it does have this strange feel. It’s a little off. But I love it. I love parts of it. I hated parts of it, obviously, when I was growing up. But yeah, we try to infuse The Home with it. Pete’s even wearing a Lee’s Pizza shirt.
DC: I was going to ask about the Lee’s Tavern shirt!
JD: If you go to Staten Island, you’ve got to get to Lee’s. They make what’s called a clam pie. Okay, I’ve heard of
DC: OK, I’ve never heard of a clam pie. Is it worth trying?
JD: Only at Lee’s because most people put too much corn on it, but Lee’s keeps it nice. They don’t go too far. They use real clams, not canned clams. So that’s a big thing. So Pete and I, we hang out at Lee’s often.
DC: I love how you incorporate that into the film. And my last question before we wrap up is, how did you find your home? Is it one home?
JD: It’s one home. It’s the size of a city, and we almost canceled the film because we couldn’t find [the right location]. I knew it was integral to the story, and we couldn’t find anything. As soon as I saw it, I was like, “OK, thank God.” I didn’t want to move to another city because I wanted to be in the tri-state area to pull from the great theater community here for the residents of the home. So we finally got lucky.
We shot everything there. It was creepy as hell. I think it was haunted. We believe it was haunted. Weird things were happening. Very strange. But still, we got very lucky. I think it’s as important a character as the rest of the cast.
The Home is available now on digital.
Categorized: Interviews
