A woman under house arrest begins to suspect her family home is haunted in this 2014 New Zealand horror/comedy they should have called Rear ASBO.

Available on iPlayer, Housebound draws from Hitchcock and Lucio Fulci (specifically 1981’s The House by the Cemetery), but subverts its genre trappings with dry Kiwi comedy. Directed by M3GAN‘s Gerard Johnstone (don’t let that put you off), the film is smart with its $400,000 budget, mostly taking place in the house with a few fun characters whose quirky traits all play their part in the plot – from the protagonist (Morgana O’Reilly) forced to watch Antiques Roadshow all day, to her overly talkative mother (Hunt for the Wilderpeople‘s Rima Te Wiata), and the security guard (Glen-Paul Waru) who also happens to be a ghost hunter (told you it was economical).

These eccentric elements all come together in a housebound showdown that puts the domestic in domestic violence, with cheese graters and corkscrews splattering the endlessly repeating wallpaper that is the haunted house genre. Along the way it explores family strife, child abuse and neglect of the Māori people, but remains deftly daft for the duration, using demonic teddy bears, tap dancing and the “Hello Moto” ringtone to destabilise its grounded premise. With its charming comedy, tense atmosphere and genuine mystery, Housebound is well worth staying in for.