Short film review and analyse of 'Home Education'

1. Home Education short film
Directed by Andrea Niada
Starring Kate Reed, Jemma Churchill, & Richard Ginn
Short Film Review by Chris Olson
A tense and thought-provoking drama/psychological thriller, Andrea Naida’s
shortfilmHome Education is a compellingpieceabout a daughter Rachel (Kate
Reed) livingwith the death of her father (Richard Ginn). What is unusual about
her situation is thather mother (Jemma Churchill) is convinced that as longas
the pair of them continue to loveand impress their father, whose body lies
rotting on an upstairs bed,he will mostlikely come back to life.Rachel’s mother
enforces a strictcurriculumof importantlessons for her daughter which will
ensure she does not disappointher dearly departed dad.
Disturbingand absurdist,withoutever feeling farcical, Home Education is an
absolutely enthralling short film. There is heightened tension throughout, two
powerhouse performances, and a nightmarish atmospherecreated through
stark visualsand an eeriescore, that are perfectly delivered by Naida.By
focusingthe story on a mother-daughter relationship,theemotional core is built
very quickly,which is essential in allowingthe tone of the movie to develop without hindranceinto something
more challengingfor the viewer. We instantly connectwith Rachel in particular,whosenaivete and i nnocence,
which gets manipulated by her mother, makes her completely endearing. The filmthen takes on some dark
overtones as the mother’s increasingly disturbingbehaviour becomes threatening, and Rachel faces a coming-
of-age likeno other girl has to experience.
The idea for the story is fantastic,and works really well as a shortfilm.Its plotis strongenough to be
entertaining for audiences by itself,but add in the thematically troublingelements which the story represents
and you have something particularly special on your hands.For example [SPOILER ALERT], Rachel comes into
her own strength in the latter end of Home Education,where she transcends the bondage of her mother’s
“teachings”, representing the power of youth and its inevitablecommencement through lifewhich clears the
way of people and ideals which havecome before it [SPOILER ALERT END]. By focusingthe story, and indeed
even the title, on this idea of “education”, Niada combines elements of horror filmmakingwithin the assumed
safety of a home and safeenvironment of learning.This contrastworks brilliantly to highlightthe tension of
the film,the unspoken dividebetween the two main protagonists,whilstmakinga poignantcommentary on
the sometimes falsepresumption that our elders in society know what’s best.
Reed deliver an excellent onscreen performance as the film’s leadingcharacter.Her arc throughout the story is
believableand tenderly done, allowingfor someabsolutely formidablemoments later on. Churchill is brutally
engaging, reminiscentof Kathy Bates in Misery attimes, maintainingthatimportantbalancebetween
intimidatingbutbelievablewithout venturing into cartoonish melodrama.
As mentioned previously in this filmreview, the atmosphere created in Home Education is palpable,and a
great deal of creditis due to the scoreby composer Andrea Boccadoro. Music for horror films is often a tricky
business.Too much forebodingand the whole thing feels heavy with darkness,too much plinky plonky keys
and you feel likeyou’re watching a panto. Home Education benefits from a score which is completely in tune
with the bulgingtension that rides throughout, capturingthe sense of intriguethat audiences will feel through
the opening and middlesections,then capitalisingon the momentum Naida builds by the end with perfect
musical execution.It is wonderfully done.
Some of the creepy visualsmay be off-putting for some audiences,especially given the difficultnatureof the
events unfoldingalongsideit.However, many will enjoy this combination which is brilliantly done.Fans of the
horror or thriller genre will feel in their element with Home Education, a piece of filmmakingwhich tears
others likeitto shreds.It has an original story which is grippingand interesting,fanta stic performances,and an
overall aesthetic which is masterfully sculpted and delivered.

2. ‘Home Education’ short film review analysis
The film review includes one image which is positioned at the very beginning of the review, the one photo
that is used is the film poster this is effective as it allows the audience to help visualise the short film. The film
poster uses dark and dull colours, this reflects to the first sentence of the review ‘A tense and thought-
provoking drama/psychological thriller’, and by positioning the poster and this sentence together it
instantly informs the reader of the genre of the film. The genre of a film is important, what films people watch
is determined on the genre of the film. By informing the reader that Home Education is a thriller it will
instantly attractive the readers that are fond of thriller films.
The review then goes onto a short plot outline of the film, in this plot outline only background information is
revealed which is effective as it doesn’t reveal too much to the reader and therefore it intrigues them to find
out more. As the review says ‘What is unusual about her situation is that her mother (Jemma
Churchill) is convinced that as long as the pairof them continue to love and impress their father,
whose body lies rotting on an upstairs bed, he will most likely come back to life’, it supports the genre
of a psychological thriller, and by informing the reader of the unusual events in the film it encourages the
reader to watch the film to find out what happens. The brief plot outline is positioned in the review next to
the film poster, this is effective as it allows for the audience to have a clearer understanding of the plot as the
main image in the poster of the two protagonists means that they can visualise the film. Further into the
review spoilers are revealed to the reader, this is effective to the reader if they have already seen the film as it
they will be able to comment on it. However, the majority of film reviews are read before seeing to see if the
film is worth watching and by including spoiler alerts it means that the reader won’t be encouraged to watch
the film to find out more. Although, the spoilers that are given in thisreview have been alerted to the reader
with ‘[SPOILER ALERT]’ this is effective as it means that the reader is aware that it includes spoilers and
means that they have the choice of whether they want to read it.
Throughout the review a positive and successful impression is given to the reader of the film, this is effective
as it suggests to the reader that the film is worth watching and makes them feel like that they are missing out
if they don’t watch it. This is constantly done in the review, for example ‘The idea for the story is fantastic,
and works reallywell as a short film. Its plot is strong enough to be entertaining for audiences by
itself, but add in the thematically troubling elements which the story representsand you have
something particularly special on your hands’, this is effective as it praises the film and encourages
readers to watch the film. The film is also praised for its storyline and credit is given to the director,
‘Disturbing and absurdist, without ever feeling farcical, Home Education is an absolutely
enthralling short film. There is heightened tension throughout, two powerhouse performances,
and a nightmarish atmosphere created through stark visuals and aneerie score, that are perfectly
delivered by Naida.’ The use of ‘powerhouse performances’ also shows that the actors played an important
and successful role in the film, the word ‘powerhouse’ suggests that the actors and actresses played strong
roles. By informing the reader that the actors and actresses were successful and the film has strong
performances in it, it again shows that the film is successful as good acting plays a major role in the success of
a film. Naida, the director is given credit for the film and by including her name it makes her known the
readers and could make her directing career go further as it may lead to being spotted by film companies.
Praising the director and giving credit to her could will mean that the readers will be intrigued in other films
that she has directed. The performances from Reed (main protagonist) is further commented on further into
the review where she is described as ‘an excellent onscreen performance as the film’s leading
character. Her arc throughout the story is believable and tenderly done, allowing for some
absolutely formidable moments lateron.’ One again this shows that the film is successful and giving
credit to the actress could lead to her acting career becoming more serious.
The review finishes with commenting on how successful the short film ‘Home Education’ is, this is shown by
the last sentence with ‘It has an original story which is gripping and interesting, fantastic
performances, and an overall aesthetic which is masterfully sculpted and delivered.’ The end of the
review leaves the reader intrigued about the usual narrative and therefore will encourage them to watch the

3. film. In the last paragraph the writer of the review, Chris Olson, describes the film with ‘a piece of
filmmaking which tears others like it to shreds’, this is very effective as it implies that this film cannot be
compared to any other short film because ‘it is wonderfully done’ and ‘Fans of the horror or thriller
genre will feel in their element with Home Education’. By ending the review on a positive it is effective
as it will be the last thing that the reader will read and will stay in the readers mind.