Homestead

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly when the genre of apocalypse literature first appeared.  Perhaps H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine and its imaginings of some ecological collapse and the fall of civilization, or the later Shape of Things to Come which went further, suggesting a continual rise and fall of civilizations as befell ancient history.  Those stories tended to dwell on the depths of the fall and heights of the rise rather than the reality of the immediate aftermath of whatever started the downfall.  Certainly by the 60s, in the shadow of nuclear Armageddon, it quickly became a full-fledged genre, one which flourishes to this day as every generation seems to believe they are the last before the current system inevitably fails with signs of cracks everywhere.

It’s flourished long enough in fact that it has had time to grow and develop tropes of its own: the quick demise of communication systems, the off-screen loss of government and leadership structures, the focus on everyday people suddenly faced with other everyday people lapsing into barbarism for survival, the overall fragility of civilization.  To some degree history supports that view – we have now several iterations of dark ages to view trends from – and certainly plays into the natural pessimism of its target audience.  Fewer and farther between are the stories looking at the apocalypse as an opportunity for civilization to band together, to suggest the bonds of men are stronger than electrical and telephone cables nor that our systems will fail so quickly.  Ben Smallbone’s Homestead flies in the face of those hoary cliches, suggesting even in the darkest hours grace is not a weakness.

It starts out standard enough: a sudden nuclear explosion within Los Angeles throws the country into chaos and leaves many cut off without supplies or aid and little idea or hope when such things will be available.  Some of the individuals are prepared for just such a collapse, whether by training like former special forces soldier Jeff (Chase) who makes sure every family has go-bag ready for whatever might happen, or by inclination like rich rancher Ian (McDonough) who has spent considerable time and resources preparing his estate for the coming disaster he could never name but was certain was out there waiting like some predator.

Offering Jeff and his ex-special forces friends a place in the compound in exchange for guarding it from the unprepared he is certain will soon arrive, Ian delivers a short-lived moment of relief for all involved to take a breath and wonder what will happen next.  It doesn’t last long as Ian’s fears are soon realized when neighboring citizens without farmland or stores of their own come to beg for food at his gates, forcing Ian to put more and more of the security and control of the compound in Jeff’s increasingly paranoid hands.

From there it would be extremely easy for Homestead to follow in the bleak footsteps of its forebears, allowing miscommunication and fear to escalate into violence and recrimination and call it depth.  Smallbone and his writers consistently frustrate convention looking inwards, both to Ian’s recognition and refusal to take more violent steps, but also into the hands of his wife (Yellowstone’s Dawn Olivieri) who sees the walls between those within the compound and without as artificial, a barrier men have created out of fear and stuck out of different fears but which could be struck down at any moment if those on both sides have the courage to do so.

It’s a refreshing change of pace and view for a familiar genre, one which plays more into the drama of the people living within the compound’s walls (young couples finding romance in the apocalypse, the tragedy of having to stand armed guard over your neighbors) and never lets anyone out of feeling the connection to humanity even as terrible things happen.  And it does so without turning too much to preachiness, letting actions define actions rather than words.

Is it the start of a new type of post-apocalyptic fiction?  Probably not, people like their pessimism too much in fiction, but that’s for the best.  As it stands now, Homestead is unique.

7 out of 10

Starring Neal McDonough, Dawn Olivieri, Currie Graham, Bailey Chase, Jesse Hutch, Kevin Lawson and Kearran Giovanni. Directed by Ben Smallbone.