While Scream is regarded as Drew Barrymore’s first slasher movie, there should be some consideration for Far from Home as well. This largely unremembered blip in Barrymore’s acting career has the looks of a mere coming-of-age drama; the posters and promo photos alone sell it as such. However, upon actually watching this obscurity from 1989, signs of genre eventually show. In particular when Barrymore’s character becomes the center of a killing spree and the unseen assailant is closer than she realizes.
After Burning Man and gypsum mining, Far from Home is perhaps the most notable thing about Gerlach, Nevada. Technically, it wasn’t the first movie to be shot there; the Gary Cooper-starring western The Winning of Barbara Worth was partly filmed in Gerlach. Yet at the time, Far from Home was a big deal for the town. Not only was the girl from E.T. now staying there, the movie helped the local economy, at least for a short while. Ultimately, production moved to Carson City.
You don’t have to squint or even wait long in order to see the genre elements in Far from Home; in just under ten minutes, the movie reveals a bloody, fresh corpse without warning. That grisly discovery is made by Barrymore’s teenage character, and her piercing scream signals the type of movie in store. Before reaching that first note of horror, though, Joleen “Jo” Cox (Barrymore) and her father Charlie, who’s played by Max Headroom actor Matt Frewer, are on their way home from a long summer road trip when they run out of gas. Forced as that story trigger might sound to modern viewers, it’s also necessary. Otherwise, why would an urbanite and his sheltered, young daughter pass through somewhere like Banco, Nevada, much less stay for several days?
And as it turns out, they’re not alone in their predicament.
Image: Drew Barrymore and Matt Frewer in Far from Home.
Banco is as dry as it is desolate. The few inhabitants there look to be holding on by a thread, and that’s before someone is shot dead in the convenience store. The ineffective sheriff (Dick Miller, Gremlins) offers cold comfort to both Jo and her father: the culprit is “most likely a drifter.” Yes, because why else would a local commit such a crime? Everyone knows each other in Banco, and there are no secrets. Or so they think.
Although Barrymore is the biggest draw in Far from Home, the supporting cast is nothing to sneer at; this movie is full of familiar faces and notables, especially in retrospect. The first sign of life that Jo and her pops come across in Banco is Duckett, that constantly armed, kinder-than-he-looks mechanic who’s played by Richard Masur (The Thing). In his introduction, he pulls a gun on Charlie and follows with disappointing news — there’s no gas and there’s no ETA for that tardy delivery truck — yet Duckett is still likable in that burnout, anti-establishment sort of way.
Then there is the always-appreciated character actor Susan Tyrrell (Butcher, Baker, Nightmare Maker), whose brief but memorable turn as Agnes feels almost out of place here, albeit in the good sense. That surly trailer park owner never met a price markup she didn’t like, and her meltdown over fishsticks has to be seen to be believed. Her crummy, overpriced lodging for the Coxes also brings them an inch closer to becoming the most dreadful thing imaginable: residents. That is, if that gas never arrives, that’s exactly what lies ahead for Jo and her dad. A glimpse into their possible future can be found in fellow travelers Louise (Karen Austin, The Ladies Club) and Amy (Jennifer Tilly, Bride of Chucky), who are equally stranded and waiting for fuel. Tilly’s character even smacks of assimilation and surrender as she sedates herself with television, beer and snacks.
Image: Drew Barrymore and Andras Jones in Far from Home.
All is not lost for a red-blooded, tragically curious teen like Jo; this agonizing stopover comes with at least one upside. The movie offers an alluring heartthrob in the form of Agnes’ delinquent son, Jimmy, who is played to full effect by Andras Jones (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master). Maladjusted and creepy, yet dangerously attractive, Jimmy represents one half of the movie’s tagline — One Boy Wants Her Love, One Boy Wants Her Dead. But, which one applies to Jimmy? The only other teenager in Banco, Anthony Rapp’s pathetic Pinky, also vies for Jo’s affection.
There’s often a fine line between murder-mystery and slasher, and Far from Home is generally labeled as the former. Even so, the kills aren’t done in any sophisticated, premeditated kind of way. No, the madman’s crimes are off the hip and immature. From frying Tyrrell in her own electrified bathwater to using a remote-controlled toy car to blow up Tilly inside a real car, the executions reek of youthful rage. And at that point, the culprit’s identity shouldn’t come as a surprise, unless you were thrown off the scent by some admittedly well-placed misdirection from screenwriter Tommy Lee Wallace (Halloween III: Season of the Witch). Seasoned couch sleuths, on the other hand, know when a movie is trying too hard to incriminate a certain character.
Far from Home doesn’t explore its own father-daughter aspect nearly as much as it could (or should) have, seeing as how Frewer’s Charlie spends more time searching for gas than keeping an eye on his kid. Barrymore’s Jo is even happy to remind her father that she’s growing up — the story is set around Jo’s fourteenth birthday — and she’s still confused about her parents’ divorce. That said, Frewer and Barrymore are convincing in their roles, and in those rare, meaningful moments between them, you buy what they’re selling. There’s never a question of whether or not Charlie loves Jo and vice versa. The movie emphasizes that as other characters, who just so happen to be fatherless, challenge their relationship.
Prolific music video helmer Meiert Avis handed in a good-looking flick, whereas Wallace penned a tonally confused and slightly sleazy story. At the very least, the genre blending keeps you on your toes. As for the on-screen exploitation of Barrymore, who was underage here, that leaves a bad taste in the mouth. And knowing she was struggling with her addiction during shooting — Barrymore brought this up in her 1990 memoir Little Girl Lost — casts another shadow on this movie. Undoubtedly, an oddball like Far from Home will be remembered for what all it does wrong, but on occasion, it also does some things right.
Horror contemplates in great detail how young people handle inordinate situations and all of life’s unexpected challenges. While the genre forces characters of every age to face their fears, it is especially interested in how youths might fare in life-or-death scenarios.
The column Young Blood is dedicated to horror stories for and about teenagers, as well as other young folks on the brink of terror.
Image: Drew Barrymore, Anthony Rapp and Andras Jones in Far from Home.