Certificate: 15
Running time: 88 minutes
Starring: Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Shelia Vand, Jeremy Allen White
Directed by: Dave Franco
The story: Two couples decide to spend a weekend together at the perfect rental house. However, the trip takes a sinister turn when they it appears that they are being watched.
The verdict: If the name Dave Franco seems familiar to you then yes it is that Dave Franco and this is his directorial debut.
I have seen a strong divide on reviews for The Rental, and it does seem to be very much an audience/critic split with critics primarily praising the film and audiences being a lot less impressed.
In spite of a relatively short running time of eighty eight minutes, The Rental is definitely a slow burn film. Though, there are certainly elements of a thriller/horror, for the most part the first two acts could almost be mistaken for a relationship drama and there is a chance that those expecting an outright horror could find themselves put off. However, The Rental ramps up the horror in the third act, so much so that after one scare, I jumped so much that I accidentally fell onto the remote control and turned the film off. It was hastily put back on though!
I really liked the visuals and tone of The Rental and I think Franco certainly has promise as a filmmaker. The score was particularly effective and I could feel it getting under my skin.
I do think that the slow burn nature won’t appeal to everyone and The Rental doesn’t necessarily bring anything new to the genre, but if you stick with it, The Rental handsomely rewards horror fans with a third act that brings chills and gore.
The rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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