Welcome Home is a 2018 suspense thriller film directed by George Ratliff and written by David Levinson.
Bryan (Aaron Paul) and Cassie (Emily Ratajkowski) are a young couple who rent out a secluded villa in the Italian countryside for a week in an attempt to repair their failing relationship after a drunken act of unfaithfulness by Cassie.
But their romantic weekend doesn't go according to plan thanks to Cassie meeting Federico (Riccardo Scamarcio), their handsome local who inserts himself in their lives and fuels Bryan's jealousy. And their idyllic villa may hold a few secrets of its own.
Not to be confused with the alternate reality game.
This film provides examples of:
- Actor Allusion: One of Federico's female accomplices is played by Italian actress Katy Saunders, who starred opposite Riccardo Scamarcio (Federico) in the latter's Breakout Role, the movie adaptation of the book Tre Metri Sopra Il Cielo.
- Asshole Victim: Federico and Edoardo rent the villa to unaware couples and record to sell it to voyeurs on the Internet; both end up killed by Cassie and Bryan.
- Bathing Beauty: Cassie takes a lot of showers through the movie, two in the first thirty minutes!
- Bed Trick: Federico pretends to be Bryan to sleep with Cassie while she's blindfolded (but Bryan making noise in the house interrupts him before he gets too far). He records the whole thing and leaves it for Bryan to watch, taking advantage of his paranoia and making it look like Cassie was cheating on him.
- Being Watched: Bryan feels like he's being watched while in the villa. He's right.
- Big Fancy House: The Italian villa they rent is this. Turns out to be a voyeuristic trap and it's filled with cameras to record the couples inside.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Federico pretends to be a friendly neighbor to Cassie and Bryan while plotting against them.
- Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario: The entire point of the couple's getaway is to try to fix their relationship.
- Cell Phones Are Useless: Bryan's cell phone stops working when he needs to call the police after they find out about Federico's cameras.
- Clingy Jealous Girl: Cassie is paranoid Bryan will cheat on her for payback and is shown to be jealous when Federico tells her about the girls they met in the bar.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: Bryan became one after Cassie cheated on him while drunk, and he's paranoid about her doing it again.
- Crime of Self-Defense: After Cassie kills Federico in self-defense Bryan is still worried they might get in trouble over it, since they're Americans in a foreign country.
- Cruel Twist Ending: It turns out Federico was also uploading the house's footage to the internet. including Cassie and Bryan killing him and Edoardo and hiding their bodies.
- Dirty Old Man: One of Federico's clients who watches his video is an old man.
- Disposing of a Body: Cassie and Bryan bury Federico and Edoardo's bodies, which is recorded and uploaded to the internet.
- Drowning My Sorrows:
- Before the movie started, Cassie was drinking after a fight with Bryan when she cheated on him.
- After they fight in the city, Bryan goes drinking in a bar.
- Emasculated Cuckold: Cassie cheated on Bryan by sleeping with a co-worker while drunk and it drives Bryan insane with jealousy. The whole trip is actually them attempting to see if they can get over it as a couple, but Bryan can't even bring himself to have sex with her without imagining her with another guy, leaving him unable to perform. Federico cruelly takes advantage of it when he almost has sex with Cassie and leaves a recording of it for Bryan to find, which almost drives Bryan into a murderous rage.
- Freak Out: Cassie starts freaking out after she kills Federico.
- Foreshadowing: Bryan looks at Edoardo's picture near the beginning of the movie, hinting that Federico is not posing as the owner of the house and Edoardo does exist.
- Handsome Lech: Federico is attractive and popular, despite being a creepy voyeur and stalker.
- Killing in Self-Defense: Cassie kills Federico after he attacks her and Bryan. They also end up killing Edoardo when he confronts them about it.
- The Loins Sleep Tonight: It happens to Bryan due to trauma over Cassie sleeping with her co-worker, as he can't stop picturing the two together. He gets over it near the end of the movie; after they kill Federico and Edoardo, they have Glad-to-Be-Alive Sex in the shower.
- Lust Object: Cassie to Federico. He says he normally is content with only watching and recording couples, but he became obsessed with Cassie after he met her.
- Manipulative Bastard: Federico, who takes advantage of the couple's mistrust to wedge them apart. He drugs Bryan and records him having sex with his two friends, then pretends to be Bryan while molesting a blindfolded Cassie and records it. He then has them find the videos individually, fueling their jealousy.
- Minimalist Cast: Bryan, Cassie, Federico and Edoardo are the only characters in the film, with a couple of extras in the few scenes in town.
- Modesty Towel: Cassie wears one after a shower, at which point Bryan tackles her and they start having sex, but the visions he has of her cheating on him get the better of him.
- Ms. Fanservice: Cassie, unsurprisingly for a character played by Emily Ratajkowski, is constantly in a state of undress through the movie and has several shower scenes.
- Nosy Neighbour: Federico seems like this at first, but it turns out he's not even Edoardo's neighbor.
- Real Men Cook: Federico cooks rabbit stew for Bryan and Cassie.
- Rescue Romance: A one-sided example; Federico falls in love with Cassie after he rescues her in the road when she injures her foot.
- Relationship-Salvaging Disaster: Cassie and Bryan are reconciled after the ordeal they suffer at Federico's hands.
- Scenery Censor: When Cassie bashes Federico's head, the pillar blocks the view of his head.
- Sex for Solace:
- Cassie had drunken sex with a co-worker after a big fight with Bryan. She regretted it immediately after.
- Bryan confesses to Federico that he sometimes wishes to sleep with a random stranger just to get back at Cassie. Federico helpfully brings two attractive friends to him to fulfill his wish.
- Shower Scene: Many throughout the film, normally involving Cassie.
- Shower of Angst: Bryan when he comes back to the villa after sleeping in the hotel.
- Shower of Love: Cassie invites Bryan to join her in the shower, but he still can't bring himself to do it due to their relationship issues. At the end of the movie, he does join her while she's washing off the blood from their murders and they finally make love.
- Side Boob/Toplessness from the Back: How Cassie's nudity is shown throughout the movie.
- Skinny Dipping: Bryan and Cassie go skinny dipping together in the pool, but Bryan can't get into it due to feeling like they're Being Watched.
- Slipping a Mickey: Federico is implied to have drugged Bryan to make him have sex with his two friends while he records it.
- Spy Cam: Federico has put several hidden cameras around the house to spy on the couples who rent it and is also broadcasting it to the internet
- Stalker with a Crush: Federico is normally only a voyeur, but he becomes obsessed with Cassie, which is why he personally tries to sabotage the relationship.
- Stealth Hi/Bye: Federico constantly does this to Cassie.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Federico is shown to be a popular guy in town.
- Violently Protective Girlfriend: Cassie ends up smashing Federico's head in after he tries to kill Bryan and stabs Eduardo when he has Bryan at gunpoint.
