Running Time: 97 Minutes
Starring: Emma Ho, Ian Ho, Ess Hödlmoser
After making his feature directorial debut with 2012's A Little Bit Zombie, Casey Walker spent his time producing intriguing features such as The Void, Pyewacket, and In A Violent Nature. He returned to the director's chair for the upcoming Ithaqua, a feature from Hammer Films which required extensive post-production work. In the midst of finishing that, Walker made Home Bodies, a film that is as intriguing as it is confined.
The story opens within a mysterious location, as a score plays that would feel at home in an '80s sci-fi work. Viewers are given a sense of the confined geography while the camera pans through many rooms, and crying is heard. The shot ends up focusing on two babies, laying side-by-side in separate cribs - one baby laying in a red blanket and crib, while the other is blue. Years pass as the scene transitions to show the pair more grown, as Red (Emma Ho) and Blue (Ian Ho) have their personal items as colour-coded as their names.
Within the dwelling, the pair live their automated lives together as they follow the rules of Papa, a disembodied voice from behind a locked door. On a holiday that resembles Christmas, the pair are given a gift that they must look after. That gift is Pal (Ess Hödlmoser), a mute humanoid who follows their lead. The new arrival drives a wedge between the pair, as Red becomes enamoured with Pal while Blue grows jealous.
What viewers are shown may conjure familiar feelings of a home life, yet a sense of unease arises from the aspects which feel otherworldly. The decor may be dated, but sci-fi sounds accompany the opening of doors. Videos are regularly watched by the children, delivered and deposited for single-use each day. An empty fridge is refilled at a moments notice, while a basement of rubbish can be emptied once a word is repeatedly spoken. One could see this isolated location as a paradise lived under authoritative rules, with Papa as the God over the non-romantic Adam & Eve living in his Garden of Eden.
Not content with her repetitive life, Red desires to explore outside of her familiar surroundings. Emma Ho marvelously captures the character's desire for more, and how the newest addition to their residence fascinates Red. Opposite to that is Blue, with Ian Ho tremendously bringing alive the character's contentment with life, his willingness to follow rules, and how Pal's arrival makes him jealous. Things are truly shaken by Pal becoming a part of their lives, making the pair aware of horrors they have been shielded from, and inspiring new sides to them. Through a trio of characters without autonomy, one wonders if this is a requirement to inhabit paradise.
The fascinating home may have seemed like paradise, but that is tainted when innocence is lost as sin is committed. Bringing alive a screenplay from Marcus Sullivan and Adrian Murray, Casey Walker captures how the illusion of safety has been lost. Is it possible for the characters' autonomy to be regained after being taken away for so long? That question lingers as the story reaches a close, and a decision must be made whether to stay in the familiar lie, or venture forth into the unknown. It is material which has been approached many times before, but that does not stop it from resonating.
Brought alive with tremendous production design and a great score by Blitz//Berlin, Home Bodies is an engrossing sci-fi chamber piece. Led by a fantastic trio of on-screen performers, this is a great work which spreads its wings beyond the on-screen confines. If this is what was made while in post-production of another film, I cannot wait to see what Walker achieved with Ithaqua.
Home Bodies made its World Premiere at Fantasia Festival 2026
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