Customer Reviews

The X-Files: Herrenvolk/Home [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

:) I love these two episodes, espeically Home. It's funny, touching, and very gross. The interplay between Mulder and Scully is wonderful in Home. Herrenvolk is another cliffhanger conclusion, which are always essential to the Files. Overall, I'd say this tape is a great addition to any fan's collection, "Phile" or not.

I just saw a repeat of 'Home' for the first time since its original airing in the 4th season. I had remembered everything, for I guess eight years. Seeing it again made me realize what a perfect slice of pure horror it is. How can a one-hour episode become such a horror classic? Its imagery is its artwork. There is an iconic image early on, at night with lightning, with the three brothers silhouetted in darkness with the Home lit up behind them, that sets the standard and the rest of the show delivers. Shadows are used with perfect effect to slowly expose the horror of this family and their Home. Each such "exposure" is an almost physical blow.

Having said that: This show is as vicious an attack on Southern small-town conservatism and traditional values as you will find anywhere; far more so than in the movie "Blue Velvet". From the small town of "Home", and its Sheriffs Andy and Barney, to the boys playing baseball in the field, to the constant theme of resistance to change - to the mother's quote (?) "We knew that change was coming, and now all we can do is to fight against it, to keep living our life our way"... and her quote about "the War of Nothern Aggression" the entire show is a claim that such small-town conservatism has at its core the deepest malformations and dysfunctions possible, that the peaceful surface hides everything dark and twisted imaginable.

I disagree with that theme very strongly. But great art always has a powerful viewpoint. For such a developing sense of horror and dread and fear, the writing and the imagery; the sheer art of this episode; tops most anything you've ever seen on TV. For horror fans only, but it's superlative.

It's interesting to note that as gross as Home was, everyone remembers it. The best part was the deleted scene with Mulder and Scully squeezed in a closet and she asks him if it was his flashlight she felt. Mulder is funny saying he's turned on pushing pigs. As for Scully and her "Babe" comments, I didn't see Babe and therefore can't relate.
As for Herrenvolk, I think that was a very pivotal episode in trying to keep account of all the aliens and their purpose. We see the governments involvement and the bounty hunters actions (which for the longest time confused me and I'm still not too sure especially after his/their involvment with the torture of Mulder in the eigth season...but I digress.) I don't think these two episodes should stand alone unless you're having horror night at your house but as a vehicle to show the contrast in the X-Files universe, they're right on the nose (or back of the neck.)

Herrenvolk is one of my favorite myth episodes, I love the character Jeremiah Smith. And the appearence of a Samantha-clone...It's a great piece of the mythology.

Home is a totally different story. I vote it the creepiest and most disturbing of the stand-alones. It stands out among fellow stand-alones such as "Hungry", "Monday", and "First-Person Shooter".

Home takes place in Home, Pennsylvania, home to Sherrif Andy Taylor and his deputy Barney (Pastor). It is also inhabited by the Peacock family, the disturbing part of this episode (which was for good reasons almost banned ;). The disfigured family goes to great lengths to...extend their family, the mother being the only female of the Peacocks.

There are a few humorous moments also, as Mulder and Scully explore their families' medical histories and Scully can relate events to "Babe", while hiding from the dangerous Peacock brothers.

Home is another classic X-File, although disturbing, and Herrenvolk is a great myth, and I had to give it 5 stars.

X FILES 4th season started out with a whimper and a bang. HERRENVOLK is the whimper with Mulder on the run from the alien bounty hunter, trying to keep the mysterious alien healer Jeremiah Smith alive so that he can help Mulder's ailing mother and possibly shed more light on his sister's dissaperance. They're escape leads to a strange farm where bees (lots of them) are being bred and crops are tended to by clones of a certain person who Mulder knows. Scully meanwhile does her best to help Mulder get home safely.

A very so-so outing which is for the most part is suspense free and not only doesn't shed a whole lot of light on the story, it even kills off one of my favorite characters, X!

HOME is the bang and is a pure junk food episode (fun but short on sense). Mulder and Scully are called up to Pennsylvania to investigate the strange death of a deformed baby who was buried in the mud not to far from the reclusive Peacock farmhouse, a family with a loong history of inbreeding. This puzzles the sheriff because the Peacock family has no known female relatives. When Mulder and Scully visit the Peacock house and find evidence against the family, the sherrif issues warrants for the family's arrest. Shortly after the sheriff and his wife are brutally slain. With no other leads, Mulder and Scully head back to the Peacock house to arrest the family and end up in a violent fight against the vile family of brothers.

Banned from network television for some nasty violence and scenes of sheer uncomfortableity. HOME stands alone as one of the best "stand alone" episodes in the series.

Home is the strangest television show I have ever seen, but nevertheless it is worth a look. Although the general consensus is that it was "banned" from Fox, I saw it (for the first time) on Fox about a couple of months ago. The tape is worth having anyway.

Although Fox may not be showing it again, I did see it repeated on a specialty sc-fi channel. This has got to be one of their strangest episodes & you have to wonder what prompted the writers to write it. The Peacocks were probably once a very proud, aristocratic family (notice the house, it was probably a very good one in the 19th century) that decided no one else was good enough. The scene where the troll enlightens Scully on the nature of motherhood has got to be the ultimate in irony. This one gets a five for extreme weirdness, though they could have filled out the story (even by providing a longer view of the rogues gallery of family photos!!)

Home is quite possibly my favorite episode. A little graphic, but very entertaining. Also, it has been banned from T.V. so you might as well by the video.

Home is probably the most shocking well-crafted, creepy and vivid episode ever to be out. I loved it for it's disturbing ability to make you feel pain as you watch it. Excellent!

The rumor is HOME was so contraversial the FOX network won't air it again. I don't know which part was more frightening; the Peacock brothers traveling to their next victim's house while Johnny Mathis's "Wonderful, Wonderful" plays on the car radio, or Mulder and Scully considering parenthood with each other, sort of.