Safer at Home is a 2021 Thriller film directed by Will Wernick (Escape Room (2017)).
The action is set against a background of a strongly enforced lockdown caused by a second and a third strain of COVID-19, now with a U.S. death toll of 23 million. A group of friends (couples Ben and Liam, Evan and Jen, and Oliver and Mia, plus single girl Harper) celebrate Evan's birthday over a live chat. To make things more festive, Oliver sends packages of molly to the others and insists they all partake. Things take a dark turn when one of the couples start arguing.
Tropes present:
- 20 Minutes into the Future: While the movie was released in February 26, 2021, the action takes place in the fall of 2022. There are flashbacks to the announcement of the 2020 lockdown ending.
- Accident, Not Murder: Evan and Jen get into a fight with Harper trying to get them to reconcile (the rest are logged off or on mute). While she is not paying attention, Jen trips and falls. There is a lot of blood coming from the back of her head and Evan announces she is not breathing. Everybody is concerned that the authorities might think Evan murdered her.
- All for Nothing: Everything poor Evan and friends go through during the night could have been avoided if Evan had done a better job of checking Jen's vital signs before assuming she died.
- Chekhov's Gunman: Early on, Evan and Jen complain about their neighbor Antonio, a former cop who threatened to report them for having a barbecue. Later in the evening, he shows up at their apartment because he heard them fighting, and even asks Jen to tell him if she is OK. He ends up calling the police based upon his suspicions.
- Double Standard: During the group's game of "Never Have I Ever", Jen admits to one having a threesome involving two guys. Evan is disturbed by this. Jen points out that it happened when she was in high school, and that he has a past too.
- Downer Ending: Evan dies, with Jen and the rest watching. The total death total for the coronavirus strain reached 253 million. The UK is now the seventh major superpower to no longer exist as a coherent nation, and the US does not appear to be far behind.
- Dying Declaration of Love: Evan is shot by the police, who do not make any effort to provide him with any medical attention. He remains on the chat and notices Jen coming to. Upon realizing that Jen is indeed alive, and knowing he is dying, he tells her she is going to be a wonderful mother.
- Found Footage: The movie consists of the simultaneous footage from everybody's phone or laptop, similar to Unfriended or Host
- The Friend Nobody Likes: A downplayed example with Mia. Oliver's divorce has not been finalized due to the lockdown slowing everything down, and she is relatively new to the group.
- Historical Figures in Archival Media: On two occasions the film uses footage of Donald Trump addressing the nation.
- I Never: Mia suggests the "Never Have I Ever" variety to the group, which ends up revealing her status as begrudgingly accepted into the group and also ends up causing Evan and Jen's later argument.
- Make-Out Kids: While on the group chat, Oliver and his girlfriend Mia start making out. They even take their phone to the bedroom when they switch and film themselves for a bit, to the discomfort of the others. They eventually log off to finish the job.
- Mistaken Death Confirmation: At some point while fighting with Evan, Jen trips and falls, hitting her head on the floor. He panics at all the blood and announces to the others that she is not breathing. It is not revealed until near the end that she knocked herself out but is alive. By then, he has left their place and been shot by the police.
- Nosy Neighbor: Antonio, Jen and Evan's neighbor, hears them screaming at each other and comes over to investigate. Evan tries to hide that he's home by turning off the lights but it doesn't work. A former police officer, Antonio even asks Jen if she is OK and suspecting domestic violence, calls the police.
- Police State: There is a very strongly enforced curfew and those who break it are taken to detention centers. Evan and Oliver also spend time evading checkpoints.
- The Reveal: When Jen fell, she did sustain a head injury, but only knocked herself out. Evan doesn't seem to notice she still has a pulse.
- Shaking the Rump: Played for laughs. The group decides to have a dance battle at the beginning of the online birthday party. Ben and Jen prove to be quite good at twerking.
- Surprise Pregnancy: At the beginning, Jen confides in Harper that she is pregnant and that she wants to wait to tell Evan until after the online gathering. Believing Jen to be dead, the other members of the group tell Evan about the pregnancy, and he becomes even more distraught.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Oliver sends the others a package with party favors representing the Las Vegas trip they have not been able to take plus molly that according to him, was manufactured in Japan and may or may not be pure. Ben complains several times of his heart racing and is generally anxious, and overall, the group's decision-making skills are impaired.
- Wham Shot: Jen recovering consciousness just as Evan starts bleeding out after being shot.
