The Rental is a fairly tepid attempt at a horror
movie. For most of its 90-minute running time, it's an excruciatingly dull soap
opera; then, in its last 15 minutes or so, it becomes a generic slasher film.
Two couples
rent a beach house for a weekend getaway, but things spiral out of control when
they suspect that they are being spied on. Even before they feel that they are
being watched, there is tension within the group.
The movie
stars Dan Stevens and Alison Brie as one couple and Sheila Vand and Jeremy
Allen White as the other, with Toby Huss as the creepy and racist property
owner. The performances are good, but the problem is that all these characters
are thoroughly unlikable. I didn't really care what happened to them, even with
the possibility of them getting murdered.
Actor Dave
Franco directs the film, from a screenplay by Joe Swanberg and himself, based
on a story that they created with Mike Demski. So, Franco, making his
directorial debut, is mostly to blame here. To be fair, I do feel Franco has
the ability to make a good movie. He faintly shows skills from behind the
camera every now and then with The Rental. Early on in the movie, he was
able to develop some tension among the characters, but that was before I realized
that everything in the first hour was one long and pointless red herring. Next
time, Franco needs to direct from a better script.
The
Rental is currently playing at Chalmette Movies and is streaming on Amazon
Prime Video, YouTube, and Google Play Movies and TV.
