Stories about survivors in a post-apocalyptic world continue to fascinate viewers on streaming series like “Fallout” and “The Last of Us,” but “Homestead” likely marks the first time such a setting has been used for a faith-based film. And it’s definitely the first time a theatrical film of that genre has been designed as a pilot for a TV series — a fact that, when made clear in the film’s final minutes, may strike many viewers as a bait-and-switch trick.
Indeed, the TV series gets what can only be described as an emphatic promotion in those final minutes, complete with a sort of teaser trailer (not unlike the one Kevin Costner used at the end of “Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1”). One of the lead actors appears on camera to speak directly to the audience about what’s coming, along with an on-screen QR code that the audience can access to learn more about how to continue the narrative (for an additional fee).
Director: Ben SmallboneWriters: Phillip Abraham, Leah Bateman, Ben KasicaStars: Dawn Olivieri, Neal McDonough, Bailey Chase
Yes, we are encouraged to pull out our cell phones right then and there in the theater, no matter how much management has discouraged that activity. Insert joke here about how the Lord works in mysterious ways.
This twist would be a lot more annoying, maybe even infuriating, if “Homestead” wasn’t so dramatically engaging and technically impressive. In fact, there are probably tons of people who don’t mind shelling out a few extra bucks, if only to see how many of their favorite survivors, well, continue to survive.
It all begins when two brothers from an unidentified foreign country on a boat off the coast of California detonate a nuclear weapon, causing massive damage and multiple deaths in the Golden State and beyond. (Later, a cyberattack on the country’s power grid is briefly mentioned, suggesting the brothers weren’t acting alone.) Ian Ross (Neal McDonough), a wealthy fixer for a cataclysm that would upend the social order, has built Homestead: a fortress-like mansion on a vast expanse of the Rocky Mountains where he, his family, and a dozen employees intend to weather any upheaval. They are self-sufficient (solar panels for power, gardens to grow food, etc.), but even Ian recognizes that, sooner or later, they will need a lot more weapons and people who know how to use them.
Fortunately, Ian took the precaution of hiring ex-special ops agents led by battle-hardened veteran Jeff Eriksson (Bailey Chase) to provide additional security before the big disaster. But by the time Jeff arrives with his wife Tara (Kearran Giovanni), who has a vaguely defined military background, and their three children, chaos has spread throughout the outside world. More and more desperate people are showing up to ask for, and then demand, supplies. At first, Ian and his religious wife Jenna (Dawn Olivieri, who recently made a rather different impression as a very, very naughty woman on the TV series “Yellowstone”) insist that “the government or FEMA” will eventually sort things out. Jeff expresses deep skepticism and warns them to prepare for the worst. The problem is that there are situations where even a shrewd strategist like Jeff can inadvertently underestimate the potential danger.
Working from a satisfyingly plausible script by Phillip Abraham, Leah Bateman and Ben Kasica, who adapted it from the “Black Autumn” book series by Jeff Kirkham and Jason Ross, director Ben Smallbone (“Priceless”) does a good job of amping up the believability quotient with clever details and supporting characters, including an unseen ham radio operator who serves as a sporadic Greek chorus, a local bureaucrat who unwisely demands that Ian continue to abide by writing restrictions and pay fees and a character who wonders aloud why, considering the power outages, they decided to buy a Tesla.
It’s widely hinted that Georgie (Georgiana White), an abused child adopted by Jeff and Tara, has precognitive powers (she drew a picture of a mushroom cloud before the plot-driving explosion occurred), but disappointingly little play is given to this. Among the other plot threads left hanging are a survivor who literally stops taking his meds and offers unreliable testimony, and a budding romance between Claire (Olivia Sanabia), Ian's less-than-sheltered, home-schooled daughter, and Abe (Tyler Lofton), Jeff's slightly more cosmopolitan son. Perhaps we'll see more of all this in the TV spin-off.
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