* Potential Spoiler Alert
While waiting for news about Casey Walker‘s movie Ithaqua, also slated for release this year, I’m glad his surreal science fiction fable Home Bodies is getting lots of love at Fantasia Film Festival 2026. It’s a beautifully constructed and self-contained story set in the future, one where human experimentation is very real, and we should all be afraid, very afraid.
Blue (Ian Ho) and Red (Emma Ho) are twin siblings living a very sheltered life. They’re not allowed to go out, and while they get to grow up and be who they are, nobody’s filling them in on the birds and the bees, or teaching them how to socialize or the world beyond their four walls. And just how they’re “raised” is rather bizarre. All they have access to are neon coloured VHS tapes and a rather surreal television show called Barn. It’s best not to say too much about this Sesame Street wannabe, but that’s the gist I got.
At other times, their world is each other, living in a dilapidated home decked out in all the trappings of an early 80s homestyle. And while it’s automated to tend to their every need, to them, that’s just normal. Eventually, they get a gift, and Blue is freaked out. Little do they know, “Papa” (voiced by Walker) is trying something new. And to accept an addition to this ‘family’ is jarring. At first, everyone thought it was a mannequin. But with no distinct gender apparent, and its personality not firmly set yet, the two youths have the right to be concerned.
Red, though, gets curious. Emma’s performance, and watching her shift from an innocent tween into a curious woman on the cusp of adulthood, is pitch-perfect, miles above her sibling’s alternate path of just going along with things. The fact these two are real-life twins helps sell the closeness they have for each other, while the intrusion of the ironically named Pal (Ess Hödlmoser) cranks the creep factor up.
Much like another unique piece of Canadian horror, Pin, just what’s presented is simply haunting. I’ll use the male pronoun to help guide readers, since this androgynous figure leans more in that direction. And the question of why he’s there needs asking. But audiences hoping for answers won’t get them; in this film, Papa is purposefully being cagey about it.
Although Home Bodies is Walker’s sophomore film in more than a decade, my guess is that he’s been careful on deciding what to work on next while busy on the television front. Anyone who’s watches his career will notice he’s directed two episodes of The Hardy Boys, along with other localized series. Or maybe he’s just been waiting for the right screenplay to come along so he could bring his trademark touch to it.
While A Little Bit Zombie dealt with relationships and has the comedy cranked up beyond ten (Stephen McHattie was wonderful), this one dials the mystique to twelve. Anyone curious about how he approached his debut can read my recollection piece here. And to see him transition to a different side of the genre spectrum with Home Bodies is notable!
All that care and attention put into directing child stars can be draining. Even the set design has its own story. And to find half the props to give this film character must have taken time. One detail is going super old school with television sets and neon coloured VHS tapes. And when the age of the home needs to be just as real to symbolize gothic decay, the lighting design must match! Just as every peeling bit of paint must show texture, so must my brain start to wonder if what’s exposed underneath matters.
Part of me wanted to say Red and Blue are part of a new mythology being formed. No, I’m not talking about the Christian creation myth, but perhaps something more akin to Osiris and Isis and the betrayal. It fits. One must transition and die so the other can live. The third wheel is just that, mysterious, and although Pal’s role isn’t quite like the jealous Seth, the fact he upsets the status quo is telling. Although he fits the role of chaos bringer perfectly, the fact he’s bald-headed shouldn’t mean too much other than this individual is strange.
And just what purpose these kids might serve once they’re grown up is still a mystery. Are they being raised to lead an empire? Or is there something else? And I’ll have to stop myself here. Anything more will spoil the ending an d the last few frames are very telling. Until this film gets wider distribution, those theories are staying behind closed doors, and I’ll have to be like Papa too. I am amused that “all the answers” seem to be hidden in “the light.”
Until more people have seen Home Bodies, all I can say is stay for the tease after the end credits!
4 Stars Out of 5
Home Bodies Trailer
(TBA)
