Review by
Emily Craig
Directed by: John Fallon
Starring: Michael Paré, Lauren Alexandra, Rachel G.
Whittle, Amy Wickenheiser
The Shelter is a film about a homeless man who is carrying a
lot of demons; Thomas (Michael Pare) is roaming the streets in search
of some food when he happens upon an expensive looking house
and, upon realising the door is open, invites himself inside. At first glance, Thomas looks like your
average hobo you might see sat on the pavement, but it is clear as the film
moves on that he is hiding a lot from his past. When Thomas realises there’s
nobody home, he helps himself to a hot bath and a roast chicken. Soon he
learns that something doesn’t want him to leave and he is going to have to
face the past he has been avoiding.
Pare is our central character; there are supporting actors but their roles
are so miniscule that they’re not really relevant. Pare does a really good
job of carrying the film forward, and he displays a lot of emotion and depth
in a small amount of time, which is really to be praised. I like that the
film is disguised as your typical haunted house drama but unveils itself to
be much more than that and doesn’t go down the predictable route.
Because the film relies heavily on the past, there are obviously a lot of
flashback scenes, and the editing involved is very good and fits perfectly
with the present goings-on in the house. There really is a lot of attention
to detail in the mise-en-scene of the film, which is key to story and
character growth.
What I will say is that although the film is a mere 1hr 16m, it feels a lot
longer. The film could have been cut and made into a short film, and it
would still have the same overall effect and message put across to the
audience. A lot of the time I found myself checking the time of the film,
and this is quite disappointing as it is a good idea for a film, and if it
were shorter, it could have been a lot more intense.
The Shelter advertises itself as a horror, but in my opinion,
there aren’t enough horror elements in the film to justify the label, and I
would prefer it to be a bit more brutal in the message it delivers.
The Shelter is on Amazon Prime Video
UK now.