So, for me the day after Thanksgiving has always been just the most relaxing occasion. Really no responsibilities. Nothing gets scheduled. Just leftovers and hanging out at home on an often cold and grey late November day. Of course, where I live now (Poland), Thanksgiving isn’t a thing and I still have work today, but in honor of this great day of laziness, I think it’s a good day for three short movie blurbs.
The Rental (2020)
Featuring the always likeable Alison Brie, this is a capable little thriller about the potential horrors of AirBnB, though honestly these threats could exist in any rental, hotel, or home, really. Two couples (two brothers with their respective wife and girlfriend, the girlfriend of one being the business partner of the other) take a weekend away at a beach house only to be targeted by a mysterious voyeur who has rigged the house with hidden cameras to capture any misbehavior that might ensue, such as infidelities among the group or murders carried out in fits of passion.
The couples are well drawn and the dramatic tension amid the party of young professionals plays out very effectively, thanks to the solid, small cast. This is a very contained piece, with the pressures of location and situation and relationships compounding until characters snap and, in some way, reveal themselves to themselves and to each other. It can sometimes be emotionally uncomfortable, but it should be, and the tension of the potential blackmail/home invasion is taut and effectively exciting.
As mentioned, late in the film, this becomes more of a home invasion as the unseen cinematographer starts physically attacking the couples. That part has some jumps and starts, but the film really could have worked without it. I figure the point of the story is that, left to their own devices, these four would probably screw up their own lives anyway, but the situation adds fuel to an otherwise low burning fire, causing explosions that can’t be walked back from. But, the third act was still fun and took us in another direction.
Also, I suppose, the movie wants us to just feel uncomfortable staying anywhere that isn’t our own home. Jaws for the short term rental market.