Homestead is about a nuclear bomb that goes off in L.A. and how that, I dunno, leads to the collapse of the US. To be fair, there was also a cyber attack that cut the power on the East Coast too… and you can never recover from a blackout! So a bunch of heavily armed types head for the safety of a prepper community in the Rockies.

Yes, this film is prepper paranoia fiction. But that doesn’t make it bad. Any kind of social collapse story can be thrilling whether its zombies or your fellow humans you have to fend off. It’s in the details, characters, and scenarios that the story lives and breathes. The problem with Homestead is that it’s lackadaisical about all of this.

Here’s the first tip this film has to surviving the end times: be stupidly rich. Because the “Homestead” in question is a HUGE mansion with surrounding houses, large tracks of land, and a hired ex-military team of guards. Are you poor or middle class? Sucks to be you.

But that’s not really the problem because the first act of the movie is fine. It’s when the story settles down into what these people need to do to survive that the problems emerge. All the characters, sub-plots, or scenarios don’t seem particularly practical or interesting. The story about survival with limited technology or infrastructure is largely ignored. The actual storylines are simplistic and grow tedious and bland. And they aren’t going to be resolved by the end of the movie.

Because, surprise, it ends with a “coming soon on Homestead” clip package. But not for a sequel, but for a streaming tv series. And YOU can scan the barcode now to watch the first episode. Oh, and pay it forward too… buy a ticket for the next unwitting person… which is a suspicious gimmick faith-based films use.

Because – surprise – this is a faith-based film. They keep that in their back pocket until the final act. But at least it’s religiosity is about openness, love, and togetherness so it didn’t have a high ick factor.

This film has a fine premise but it fumbles the details and then decides to hoodwink you by being a backdoor pilot for a show. The film doesn’t have an ending… they are saving the dangling subplots for future episodes. Leaving me the gullible fool who bought a ticket for an incomplete movie.

Score: 69