Contrary to what their movies might suggest, horror filmmakers are often the best adjusted people around. Taking the darkest scenarios you can imagine and externalizing them as fiction is good for the psyche, it seems — maybe even fun for the whole family. That’s certainly the case with “Family Movie,” a light and charming horror-comedy that premiered at the SXSW Film Festival on Friday and doubled as quality time for the Bacon-Sedgwick clan.
The overall impression left by the film, directed by Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick under their “Kyra and Kev” banner and starring Bacon, Sedgwick and their kids, is of a family that might be a little eccentric (they’re in the arts, after all) but who genuinely enjoy spending time together. That warm feeling can’t help but bleed into the movie itself, about a far less successful clan of artists who make horror movies together on their Texas ranch.
Dad Jack Smith (Bacon) is a zero-budget auteur in the tradition of “Sledgehammer” and “Killer Workout” director David A. Prior, the kind of filmmaker who’s been making movies since the VHS era but whose greatest triumph was playing opening night at a small regional film festival. (He still manages to have an arch-rival, a mean-spirited critic who trashes all of his movies, which is a form of fame in itself.) Jack’s wife Elle (Sedgwick) used to be a successful actress, but has long since left the business and devoted herself to raising their kids Ulla (Sosie Bacon) and Trent (Travis Bacon) — a commitment that also includes starring in, and defending, her husband’s goofy horror films.
As “Family Movie” begins, the whole clan has come together to film one last movie, “Blood Moon,” whose plot is irrelevant to the larger narrative but which involves occultists sacrificing hapless victims under the red night sky. The shoot has all the issues that one might expect in a scrappy, low-budget project — endless delays, declining credit cards, barking dogs, bad weather, uncooperative actors — and one unusual problem: The dead body in the barn. Early in the film, Elle takes inspiration from one of her husband’s films while dealing with a boorish, uncooperative neighbor (John Carrol Lynch), and now body disposal is one more role these married multi-hyphenates have to take on themselves.
At first, it seems like Elle has snapped under the pressure of finishing this final film. Then new revelations change her character, and Sedgwick’s performance along with it. Her cheerfully demented comic turn is one of the most enjoyable things about “Family Movie,” proving that having movie stars for parents is a big advantage when it comes to making movies with your family. Bacon is also more than capable of playing a stressed-out director, and while Sosie and Travis don’t stray too far from their real-life personas (the movie includes a plug for Travis’ band, which is sweet), they get the job done. Travis Bacon also composed the music for the film, although his heart is seemingly more in the death-metal numbers than the more generic background tracks.
At times, the humor in “Family Movie” can lean into the cartoonish and cliché; the aforementioned critic, for example, or a subplot involving a wannabe documentarian (Liza Koshy) who bribes her way onto the “Blood Moon” set. There are also a handful of references to sexual menace, which stick out awkwardly amid the bloody good fun. These speed bumps are minimal, however, and on the whole “Family Movie” moves along at a sprightly comedic pace, using the occasional whip pan or cheeky edit to punctuate a joke. Working from a story by Bacon and Sedgwick, screenwriter Dan Beers incorporates some genuinely funny lines, which the cast sells with unselfconscious commitment.
Bacon and Sedgwick also incorporate realistic family issues with the film’s bloodier, more outrageous ones, but this isn’t a family therapy session. “Family Movie” never really rises above the level of a pleasant diversion — nor is it meant to. The chemistry between the leads is very natural, as it should be — they’re family, after all — and this carries the film as far as it needs to go.
Shot on a modest budget on a ranch in Red Rock, Texas, the entire project of “Family Movie” can be summed up in a single moment, as the Smiths are brainstorming about how to rid themselves of the problem that’s currently rotting on their property. Ulla suggests using the neighbor’s wood chipper, and Jack responds enthusiastically; she grins and pulls her arms in close to her body, pleased to receive validation from her dad. It’s a cute moment, if a slightly unhinged one.
If that sounds like your sense of humor, “Family Movie” might be a good choice for your next horror-movie night with the (adult) kids.
“Family Movie” is up for acquisition at SXSW, with Gersh handling sales.