Homestead (Christian Movie Review)

Homestead’s gritty aesthetic and intriguing worldbuilding make for a compelling start to a streaming show, even if it is largely unsatisfying as a standalone theatrical movie.

About the Film 

Faith-based entertainment has come a long way from the days of being just hokey Hollywood knockoffs baptized in heavy-handed religious messages. Not only have faith-based films established themselves as legitimate cinematic stories, but many have blazed innovative new trails in the industry. Angel Studio’s latest offering, Homestead, goes boldly into uncharted Hollywood territory as a unique theatrical film/television show hybrid. Whether or not the ambitious approach will pay off may depend on audience expectations. Homestead’s gritty aesthetic and intriguing worldbuilding make for a compelling start to a streaming show, even if it is largely unsatisfying as a standalone theatrical movie. 

In addition to the unique hybrid release strategy, Homestead also sets itself apart with a high concept premise and an unusually raw tone (at least, for a faith-based story). Angel Studio’s The Shift (2023) was a rare example of a faith-based film venturing into imaginative fiction, but most have followed the safer template of either a direct biblical adaptation or a true-life drama about an inspirational Christian figure. Homestead is commendable for its willingness to break the mold and explore Christian themes through a fictional story that has an aesthetic (big dudes with big guns) and a world building backdrop (post-apocalyptic society) unlike anything else in the genre. 

Despite being marketed as a feature film, Homestead is better understood as a supersized pilot episode for a TV show (that will eventually be available on the Angel Studios app). There are examples of popular shows spawning theatrical spin-offs, but launching a TV show with a theatrical release is virtually unprecedented (the only example that comes to mind is the 2008 animated Star Wars series, The Clone Wars). Even with an extended runtime, Homestead is very much “Episode 1” of a show rather than a self-contained narrative. New characters and subplots are still being introduced well into the third act, and the film’s ending lacks closure or a satisfying resolution.

The unique release strategy makes Homestead a challenge to evaluate, since it is only the first chapter in a much larger narrative. For example, one early eyebrow-raising motif is that despite the more traditionally masculine aesthetic (in the mold of Amazon Prime’s wildly popular Reacher), the film slants surprisingly feminine. There are three or four romantic couples featured in the story, and in each case the woman is the strong-willed partner with a steadfast faith who must condescend to hotheaded, stubborn, and spiritually weak men. Will subsequent episodes give the male characters more opportunities to shine beyond the ability to shoot a gun? Perhaps, but such moments are sparse in this initial film.  

Homestead also fails to complete a story arc within its runtime. Instead, it spends most of its time introducing and establishing story threads, mysteries, and conflicts that will only be resolved in later episodes on the streaming app. Other than the inciting incident of the bombs exploding (which is exciting), and a truncated third act shootout (which is less exciting), there is surprisingly little dynamic action. As a result, the movie can be a frustrating experience that feels like an extended commercial for the streaming show, without offering enough on its own merit to justify the price of a theatrical movie ticket. 

What prevents Homestead from being an entirely unsatisfying experience is that while it might feel like a flashy marketing pitch, it does do an effective job garnering excitement for the show. Homestead foreshadows an intriguing mix between the gritty, socially conscious tone of Alex Garland’s Civil War (2024), and the compelling relational intrigue of the hit TV show, LOST (2004-2010). The setup of a gated community of strangers struggling to work together to survive a post-apocalyptic world is ripe for future drama and action. Everything about Homestead—the set design, the acting, the storyline—feels more naturally suited for a streaming show, and had I seen the film on the streaming app, I may have been intrigued enough to continue into Episode 2.

Christians have differing tastes and tolerances for how on-the-nose or subtle they like the faith aspects conveyed in film. For some, the more frequent and blunt these aspects are, the better. As someone with a weaker stomach for sermonizing stories, Homestead—like The Shift—shows that Christians haven’t quite cracked the code for how to explore spiritual themes through fictional stories without coming across like they are trying to force a Sunday School moment. There are plenty of wholesome messages in Homestead for Christians to affirm, and it is unquestionably better written than the cheesy Christian films of bygone days. Even so, there were frequent immersion-breaking instances where the filmmakers seemed to be shoehorning in religious dialogue simply to meet the quota for a “faith-based” story, rather than having such moments always feel organic to the characters or to what the narrative called for. Nevertheless, Christians watching a movie like this for those clear and unapologetic Christian messages will likely appreciate the agreeable themes and may even wish for more.    

In the end, regardless of how Homestead is received, it can be appreciated for taking some bold creative swings and offering something fresh in a faith-based genre that, despite vastly elevated quality, is quickly becoming stale and repetitive. Only time will tell whether giving this film a theatrical release will stir up enthusiasm and interest in the show, or whether the ambitious strategy will backfire and leave audiences feeling cheated by paying full price for a meal only to receive an appetizer. In my own experience, both of those reactions can be true. With a confident and distinctive identity, Homestead demonstrates the intriguing potential for a streaming show that promises to be unlike anything else in the Christian media landscape; I’m just not sure a theatrical release is the best entry point to invite audiences in to experience it.

Life v. Survival

The striking imagery of a (largely Christian) community set in the middle of a violent and hostile world can be taken as an intriguing metaphor for the church in a secular culture (John 17). At the heart of the story are the questions of how to navigate such a tumultuous world, and should the driving motivation be self-preservation or a missional call to action? The homestead, in a similar way to the church, must decide whether to extend open arms to all people in need (and deal with the logistical complications that come with that) or to close the gates and try to wait out the storm in the safety of the isolated sanctuary.  

As one character muses, “There is life. And then there is life worth living.” Mere survival and preserving life are not the same as truly living. The leader of the homestead (Neal McDonough) is fixated on what it will cost the community to open its gates to the refugees outside, but he fails to recognize the spiritual cost if he does not. As Jesus said, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26). In the film’s closing moments, a voiceover succinctly articulates the film’s central thematic message: “Survival could have become our North Star. But we chose love instead. And love made life worth living. As with every fall of man and rebirth that follows, love lights the way.”