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‘Homestead' Review: A Gripping Post-Apocalyptic, Faith-Based Melodrama - With a Bait-and-Switch Ending Story by Joe LeydonVariety via MSNDec. 19, 2024Stories about survivors in a post-apocalyptic world continue to fascinate viewers in such streaming series as "Fallout" and "The Last of Us," but "Homestead" likely marks the first time such a scenario has been used for a faith-based movie. And it definitely is the first time a theatrical film in that genre has been designed as the pilot for a TV series - a fact that, when it becomes clear in the movie's final minutes, may strike many viewers as a bait-and-switch trick. ...It all begins when two brothers from an unidentified foreign country in a boat off the coast of California set off a nuclear weapon, causing massive damage and multiple deaths in the Golden State and beyond. (Later on, there is fleeting mention of a cyber-attack on the nation's power grid, suggesting the siblings were not acting alone.) Ian Ross (Neal McDonough), a wealthy prepper for a cataclysm that would disrupt the social order, has constructed Homestead: a fortress-like mansion on a large spread in the Rocky Mountains where he, his family, and a dozen or so employees intend to ride out any upheaval. They are self-sufficient - solar panels for power, gardens to raise food, etc. - but even Ian recognizes that, sooner or later, they will need a lot more guns, and people who know how to use them.Fortuitously, Ian took the precaution of contracting before the big kaboom former special service ops led by battle-toughened vet Jeff Eriksson (Bailey Chase) to provide additional security. But by the time Jeff arrives with his wife Tara (Kearran Giovanni), who has a vaguely defined military background, and their three children, chaos has spread through the outside world outside. Increasingly desperate folks are showing up to request, then demand, provisions. At first, Ian and his religious wife Jenna (Dawn Olivieri, who recently made quite a different impression as a very, very naughty lady in TV's "Yellowstone") insist that "the government or FEMA" eventually will set things right. Jeff expresses profound skepticism, and warns them to prepare themselves for the worst. Trouble is, there are situations where even a savvy tactician like Jeff may inadvertently understate potential danger. ...
