Delayed Reaction: The Rental

Premise: Two couples rent a house for a weekend and run into trouble.

 

This will be one of those Reactions that sounds harsher about the movie than I actually am. I liked it. It's a small indie horror movie with a strong cast. It's a solid debut for Dave Franco as a multi-hyphenate (Producer-Director-Cowriter). I definitely felt the Joe Swanberg in this (co-producer and co-writer) in all the mumblecore glory. The movie is short and blunt, using conflicts both internal and external. The movie is basically an adult relationship drama that happens to be inside a horror thriller. If you are looking for a quick, effective horror movie, this is a fine choice.

 

I wasn't crazy about the movie though. Some of the red herrings annoyed me. Toby Huss was pretty obviously a misdirect, which made his racism even more annoying. There's the missing dog and the locked room that were nothing. Something about Dan Stevens and Sheila Vand hooking up annoyed me too. It's needlessly risky, which I suppose could be excused because they were on X. Given how close they are, how they used to date, and how long they've been close, I guess I'm not convinced why it would bubble up in that exact moment and why Alison Brie and Jeremy Allen White wouldn't be more suspicious. How can I say this better? ...I don't believe the starting point for any of the relationships at the beginning of the movie. Brie would've asked questions earlier (like way before the movie starts). Stevens doesn't hide how much he likes Vand at all. There's unaddressed weirdness of White dating Stevens' ex and best friend. Like, if I believe the starting point of the movie, then the way things play out make perfect sense. I don't buy that starting point at all though.

 

There's also the fact that turning a relationship drama into a slasher movie in the last few minutes really highlights how dumb people are in slasher movies. I get that there's a shock to finding out that your girlfriend or husband is cheating on you, but why is no one pausing for even a moment to think that they are clearly being toyed with by an outside malevolent force? I don't even buy that the killer is as successful at killing as the movie suggests. He's incredibly sloppy. I hate watching someone who is supposed to be a "master of the universe" type relying so much on getting lucky.

 

Again, I did enjoy this movie. I just wish it was a little tighter with the storytelling. I knew what I was getting into going in. Perhaps if I went in blind, the sudden switch to a slasher movie would've been thrilling. But, knowing it was coming, I was just anxious for it to finally start. I think making the killer's presence better known throughout would've helped.

 

Verdict: Weakly Recommend