Room for Rent

Lin Shaye has long been one of the hardest working and most underappreciated character actresses out there. Even if you don't know her name, you'd recognize her face and Room For Rent appears to be the first time she's been tasked with headlining a film all by herself and she proves to be more than up for the challenge.

After her husband's death, a painfully awkward widow (Shaye) is left penniless and decides to open up her spare room for guests. A handsome younger man takes her up on the offer and, in no time at all, she's snooping through his things, using his toothbrush and deodorant (in a comically creepy scene), and dressing up in a provocative manner to entice him. She's not going to let this one go and she'll fix anyone who gets in the way.

Room For Rent is low on style and scares, but there's a true human element to the story that many films of this type miss out on. The concept and material wouldn't feel out of place as an afternoon movie on the Lifetime network (and the production values are about the same), but Shaye's performance and a few disturbing touches keep it just barely out of those swampy waters.

Unfortunately, a lot of the other actors aren't up to Shaye's level and the film does suffer because of this. Some of the dialogue doesn't always help as in one scene where a group of young punks terrorize her on her way back home. No one in this scene resembles a real human being (even Shaye suffers during this bit) and one wonders why it's even in the film since these kids are only in two scenes and never heard from again. One wishes Shaye would have taken a kitchen knife to them at least.

Living in a suburban neighbourhood, a lonely widow (Lin Shaye) with something of a dark side to her personality takes in lodgers to help her financially and to make for much needed company. After befriending a woman (Valeska Miller) who came for a short stay, she takes in a good looking young man (Oliver Rayon) who she begins to obsess over and become possessive of.

Shaye is superb in this sweltering, sometimes claustrophobic thriller. Made on a small budget and benefitting from its Sedona setting, it is the type of film that would also been well suited to the post WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1963) host of films that followed in that film's wake in the mid 1960s. The suspense is well maintained and Shaye is at times chilling, but one is left wondering why some of these characters did not get out of the house sooner.

Those who saw Lin Shaye billed and automatically thought this would be a horror will be disappointed. It is a suspense/thriller.

It is a strong story and the acting by all the cast is superb. As ever, Lin Shaye brings another diverse character to life in her performance as recently widowed Joyce.

The production is OK, but could have done with more emphasis on some of the darker moments to make it more menacing and keep the viewer guessing for a bit longer.

Some people won't like the ending, and more could have been made of it.

Even so, still a good film to watch.

A lonely widow, Joyce ( Lin Shaye ) decides to rent out her spare rooms to get out of some financial trouble left to her by her late husband. She eventually rents a room to a drifter who may have a shady past. Joyce a fan of Romance novels starts fantasizing about her new tenant, and if things don't go her way, she will make it go her way by any means possible even if it's rather creepy. So what worked?

• Lin Shaye is excellent in this role, making you feel empathy for her character even when she is going down the darkest of paths. A great performance that is frail but fearsome . Unpredictably manipulative , but still making you want to root for her in some fashion
• The script aswell takes you on a journey with her character, expertly playing with your emotions towards her character. Kudos too, for not spoon feeding the audience with all the back story for certain events or characters, leading the viewers to fill in some blanks, but not to the point where it's unsatisfying or confusing .

-Confidently directed with great use of light and shadow. Great camera work and a growing sense of tension

What could have been better?

• The story itself is somewhat predictable and you can see certain events coming a while off

-I'm not sure if i quite bought the 'Sarah' character, whose motivations for snooping around seemed somewhat flimsy

Overall a solid drama / thriller that has shades of Fatal attraction & single white female. Lead by a great turn by Shaye

I really enjoyed this strange, sad, and laughable film. It has a lot of the truisms of life embedded in it. It's a step up from a Lifetime film with an odd lesson from a female perspective.