By Geno McGahee
This film was released in 2008, but it looks like it’s a direct to video 1980’s release. NO PLACE LIKE HOME has the same look as VIDEO VIOLENCE, and that’s a good thing! I immediately was drawn to this film and found some joy in the mere fact that it drew me back to a great time in film.
Written and directed by Steven James Creazzo, we have a story concerning a masked killer and a mystery. David (Vincent J. Mazella) has returned to town after 12 years to restart his life with his new wife, Jessica (Denise Filosa), and two kids, but the town doesn’t want him back. David is suspected in some murders, including the deaths of his parents.
The police chief, Karl (Steven James Creazzo) and his deputy Eric (Ronnie Petricevich) are making David’s life difficult at every turn and with reason. When David returned, so did the murders. A man in a skull mask is going around and brutally killing people. On top of that, an old flame comes into David’s life and he has a moment of weakness. He loses his wife and now has nothing but trouble. He must figure out the mystery in order to clear his name and get his wife back.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME has a lot of heart and a lot of charm. The editing was a little wacky. There were so many different and distracting transitions in between scenes that it took away from the story, but if you can get beyond that, the movie is a lot of fun. The acting is pretty bad, but the actors and actresses in the film were doing their best and were likable. You mix in some great fight scenes and some ridiculous twists and turns, and you have a micro-budget winner.
I highly recommend NO PLACE LIKE HOME. I’m eager to see the other work of Creazzo.
Rating: 7/10