I ain’t here for a long time, I’m here for a good time
So bring on the sunshine, to hell with the red wine
Pour me some moonshine
When I’m gone, put it in stone, “He left nothing behind”
I ain’t here for a long time, I’m here for a good time– “Here For A Good Time” by George Strait
If one subscribes to a certain worldview of adulthood progression, an individual is supposed to grow up, move out, perhaps go to school or learn a trade, get a job, and, eventually, buy a home. Now, that last step is becoming harder and harder and it’s certainly not helped by rising rent, which makes the transition to homeownership a greater struggle. But, for those who can make the transition, there’s something really special about homeownership in the sense that you control it all, for better or worse. You get to decide what to paint the walls, what objects to hang, how many and how large of a hole to put in the drywall and more. Sure, you have to deal with all the interior and exterior maintenance yourself, but the home becomes your domain to do with as you please. Unless, of course, you bought a home in a neighborhood with a Home Owners Association (HOA), in which case, you may be truly f’d from expressing any kind of individuality that would set your home apart from any other. Tapping into that apprehension and disquiet is William Bagley’s sophomore film Hold the Fort, having its world premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival 2025, a blood-soaked horror comedy that may just make someone reconsider the HOA’s role in protecting the neighborhood, especially when a portal to hell is involved (but what a view!).
Lucas and Jenny (Chris Mayers and Haley Leary, respectively) are delighted to finally own a home, a home that they can do anything they want with … that is, if the HOA approves it. Despite her own frustration at living in a neighborhood with an HOA, Jenny doesn’t regret moving to their dream location and into their dream house — but she might soon. Their move-in was timed almost perfectly with the equinox, just in time for the neighborhood equinox party. When they arrive at the party, they meet a small collection of their colorful neighbors, each one quite distinct from the last. But as the snacks are eaten and the drinks flow, Lucas and Jenny can’t help but notice how well-armed everyone is and, by the time they understand why, it’s too late.
A scene from HOLD THE FORT. Photo courtesy of Blue Finch Film Releasing.
Bagley’s feature debut, The Murder Podcast, is a film that, in this reviewer’s estimation, requires a certain wavelength to really appreciate. Its strain of horror and stoner comedy being a specific blend that you might need to puff-puff-pass with a friend in order to get what Bagley’s putting down. This is not the case with Hold the Fort, a mostly single-location horror comedy that’s more Bloody Muscle Body Builder in Hell (1995) than Evil Dead Rise (2023), both in tone and execution. Bagley’s script is based on a story by himself and Scott Hawkins (actor in The Murder Podcast). He brings it to life from the director’s chair using a gleeful mix of grounded, practical elements and CG effects that’ll have you asking whether or not these characters will be dead by dawn. The characters within it are loosely drawn and the rationale for the danger is both smartly narrowed in scope and thin enough in reason that the audience has far more room than they’d expect for play. What this means is that you have a number of characters that are more stereotypes than anything, but that affords the script and actors to deliver on some fun surprises. One of the best gags in the film comes from Tordy Clark’s (Jerry and Marge Go Large; Glorious) has-all-the-drugs Leslie in a moment that Bagley sets up one way and allows Clark to execute in such a way that, if you’re in, you’re rolling at the implication. (By the by, you better stay through the credits for an extended version of the same gag.) Similarly, while the hellmouth itself isn’t particularly explained in terms of how and when it came to be, the script ensures that, as it’s established as this pre-existing feature for the neighbor, all the characters, save our audience proxies, possess a tacit understanding of its functionality. More than that, there’s a built-in reason that serves the character dynamics and respective arcs as to why so many in the community speak to Lucas and Jenny as though the duo are well-versed in community lore, even if not having had to fight a witch, karate spirit, or werewolf before. This helps make the difference between a film with nothing to say and one with an agenda. Sure, there’s a blood count that makes one character look like Ash Williams (Bruce Campbell) in Evil Dead II (1987) at one point, but that doesn’t mean that this is all there is. By ensuring that the story addresses, through casual dialogue and exposition drops, things that might seem to the average observer as a plot hole, Hold the Fort protects itself from common horror tropes while managing to deliver on horror expectations.
What does this mean, exactly? It means that, especially in the current economy, sometimes people have to settle in their dreams. The view from your apartment balcony may be gorgeous when the sun sets on the cityscape (pro for Jenny), but the sounds of violence really diminish the perceived artistry (negative for Lucas). It’s for reasons like Lucas’s that the “white flight” occurred away from cities and toward suburbs, the very thing that John Carpenter’s Halloween (1978) so beautifully weaponizes by upending the so-called safety of the white picket fences and manicured lawns. The difference here is that Bagley’s cold open establishes that the hellmouth is a known entity, something that the community is built upon — not quite like the trope of an Indian burial ground which the homeowners discover too late to do anything — but a chosen problem like a naturally occurring disturbance. Therefore, the people who live there have made an active choice, best as we can tell, to live near a hellmouth in order to avail themselves of such a lovely neighborhood, perhaps like the folks who move to the Fresh Kills area of Staten Island understanding that the landfill is going to wreak havoc on their senses if they’re downwind but do it anyway in order to have more space for their families and less urban troubles. Moving to an area like Bagley’s brought to life is indicative of such economic choices that individuals have to deal with all the time — do I stay here and deal with the devils I know or move somewhere with the longshot chance of having something new? You could get murdered by a witch, get turned into a werewolf, or worse, but what neighborhood doesn’t have its drawbacks? At least the community joins together for one night each year, right?
While the Kickstarter for this wrapped in 2023, one can’t help but see a correlation between the fictional problem that puts Lucas and Jenny on their asses and what’s happening in real cities across the U.S. with the ICE infestations. An HOA, for all the bad-mouthing they get, and much of it is deserved, is really about protecting a neighborhood. It’s absolutely based in economic gatekeeping as only a “certain class of individual” can afford the additional monthly or yearly dues and can be used as a cudgel to remove neighbors that the HOA deems unfitting to reside in the community. Jenny wanted to avoid living in a place under the control of an HOA, but, due to how much she loved the house, other challenges they faced trying to get a place, and Lucas’s own strong desire to move, he keeps the fact that it is under an HOA’s control from Jenny as they finalized the purchase and move. This choice places Lucas in the same perceived position of the HOA, knowing better than its members (or Jenny, in his case). This not only kicks off the internal turmoil between the couple, it sets up some important lessons for everyone regarding perspective, communication, and communal living. Intentionally or not, Bagley brings all the apprehension forward regarding HOAs, especially how an HOA may use its agents to cross over from reasonable maintenance/conformity into violations of privacy that border on fascist surveillance. It’s the overstepping that all agree is a massive problem. Julian Smith (Julian Smith: Never Get Naked in Your Shower) does a wonderful job as HOA President Jerry in giving off a very specific tight-ass vibe that makes one wonder whether the HOA is somehow behind the hellmouth, a direct commentary on the frequently loathed organization.
T-B: Hamid-Reza Thompson as McScruffy and Chris Mayers as Lucas in HOLD THE FORT. Photo courtesy of Blue Finch Film Releasing.
Interestingly, and perhaps because collaboration is the only way to survive in a horror film, Hold the Fort creates an implication that the HOA can be viewed as a leader in tough times. At the very least, in comparison to the original Chosen Ones trying to stop the annual attacks, there’s a sense that, HOA or not, if we’re not all in this together, no one survives. While this is by no means meant to suggest that HOAs are due re-litigation in the public eye, this one is crucial to a community facing an infestation that threatens the safety of its members (much in the same way communities are coming together now to de-frost violent infestations of their own). By agreeing to the terms of the HOA contract when moving in, they get more than access to the new pool (coming soon), they agree to joining a collective that will back each other up to drive out what upends the apple cart. Based on the various characters in the film, none are blinded by the kind of xenophobia or classism that HOA’s stereotypically employ, creating a sense of community well before trouble starts for Lucas and Jenny. There are few threats that a well-organized group of individuals with a common goal cannot upend, no frozen tundra that cannot be melted. Again, I don’t think Bagley’s film is intentionally political, but it’s a fine message to take away.
Hold the Fort is absolutely the type of film that embodies, “not here for a long time, here for a good time.” It’s barely 75 minutes in length, buys its Karo syrup from Costco, incorporates some clever makeup and prosthetics evoking gnarly supernatural horrors, and is loaded with jokes which either lean-into expectations or disrupt them. The cast is more than game for the ridiculousness and Levi Burdick, who worked with Bagley in The Murder Podcast, returns here as a massive standout in the form of neighbor Ted. The film can be enjoyed as a typical single-location home invasion tale or you can dig deeper into it as it relates to the responsibilities we have toward one another (either as a couple or a community). One thing is absolutely certain, Bagley’s finding his footing as a storyteller in a space rife with potential.
Screening during Fantasia International Film Festival 2025.
For more information, head either to the official Hold the Fort Fantasia International Film Festival 2025 webpage or the Blue Finch Film Releasing webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
Share this:
Categories: In Theaters, Reviews
Leave a Reply