Home invasion movies are effective because they leave the viewer in a state of vulnerability. We are supposed to feel safe in our own homes, and home invasion films disrupt that safe feeling. You know what I did not know I needed in my home invasion movies? Comedy. While covering Imagine Fantastic Film Festival, that is exactly what I got with Raviv Ullman and Greg Yagolnitzer’s dark comedic thriller, Drag. The plot may be a little simple, often leading to figuring out what is going to happen next quite easily. However, the comedic timing and performances keep this from being a total drag.
Drag hits the ground running when introducing us to sisters, portrayed by Lizzy Caplan and Lucy DeVito. We meet them waiting in their car to burglarize a rural home of a man (John Stamos), who one sister (Caplan) knows. She feels he owes her something and plans to get it one way or the other. When we find out later in the film what this is, you can’t help but sigh and laugh out loud, because it is a very millennial thing to think.
Sister, Sister
Very quickly, this home invasion goes awry when Caplan’s character (they don’t have names, y’all, I’m sorry) throws out her back, and now DeVito’s character must drag her to safety and race against the clock before Man (Stamos) comes home. Things become even more complicated when Woman (Chrstine Ko) comes over for a nightcap with Man. Both sisters now have to figure out how to vacate the premises unseen.
Drag is a master class in comedic timing and witty dialogue. Caplan proves she is underrated and underutilized in film with her comedic chops. DeVito absolutely holds her own with her own hilarious performance. In a small role, but not to be outdone, Stamos shows why he has been a household name for decades, while rocking a kimono and dancing in his undies (thank you, Ullman and Yagolnitzer).
While this movie is hilarious, it is balanced out with waves of tension and suspense. It also has some moments of gore that will definitely make you wince. The tension also grows as the sisters not only need to save themselves, but also get into a moral dilemma of having to possibly save someone else as well.
Drag may not win any awards for inventiveness. However, it provides an entertaining single-location thriller with enough laughs to make your sides hurt.
Michael Medrano (He/ Him)
Michael Medrano, under the moniker MikeAndSerial, is an online horror critic. He has a passion for all things horror, but you will see him champion for found footage horror, international horror, and indie horror. He will always guide the willing through the questionable trenches of Tubi, too.
