Kevin McCallister’s solo Christmas celebration in Home Alone came with unexpected consequences for the real-life owners of the iconic house.
The Aberdshein family, who owned the house that was used as the McAllister family home in the film, revealed in a new documentary that they didn't realize actor Macaulay Culkin had cut a real tree on their property in half until they watched the movie.
In a newly released clip from the upcoming documentary The House From…, shared by PEOPLE, the family recounted how they only realized a tree had been removed from their property when they saw Culkin taking an ax to it on screen.
According to Lauren Aberdshein, whose parents once owned the Winnetka, Illinois, home:
"My parents were watching the movie during the premiere and there's a scene where Kevin goes out into the backyard to cut himself a Christmas tree, so he cuts one in half."
"My parents are sitting there and thinking, 'Wow, they did a really good job filming that scene. It looks very realistic.' Well, it wasn't a fake tree."
"They got home and looked in the backyard and saw, 'Oh, they cut our actual tree in half.' So the tree you see in the movie that Kevin cuts down was our actual tree."
It was quite the admission.
After the movie’s release, Lauren Aberdshein remembered seeing cars "lined up down the block" as fans came by to catch a glimpse of the iconic home. But as the film’s popularity continued to soar over the years, simply observing from a distance no longer satisfied visitors.
She said:
"Over time, people grew a little bit bolder, so they'd get out of the car and get closer to the house. For us, we'd come home, we'd run some errands and come home and there's a stranger in your yard — not intentionally trying to intrude. They're just so excited to see the 'Home Alone' house and they want to be as close to it as possible."
The House From... is available to watch via VOD.
The documentary includes homes from projects such as Halloween, The Silence of the Lambs, The Golden Girls, Breaking Bad, Twilight, Home Alone, Friday, and Pee-wee’s Big Adventure.
And fans are excited to get a behind-the-scenes look at some of their favorite cinematic houses.
Maximum Effort/YouTube
Maximum Effort/YouTube
Maximum Effort/YouTube
Maximum Effort/YouTube
Maximum Effort/YouTube
Maximum Effort/YouTube
Maximum Effort/YouTube
Maximum Effort/YouTube
Maximum Effort/YouTube
You can watch the trailer below:
- YouTubeyoutu.be
The House From... is available now to stream on Fubo's Maximum Effort channel.