The Resident

The acting in this movie is the only saving grace while it's a tried plot the 2011 Spanish movie Sleep Tight showed it can still be well written this movie however fell short there. If you liked this movie or just want something similar try Sleep Tight instead. If The Resident is a 5.5/10, Sleep Tight is 9/10.

I found this movie on Netflix and saw that Jeffrey Dean Morgan was in it, and that was more than enough of a sales pitch to make me sit down and watch "The Resident".

I have to admit that Jeffrey Dean Morgan was amazing in this movie and he really carried the movie quite nicely. Hillary Swank is certainly not among my most favorite of actresses, and she wasn't outstanding in this movie. Too bad that Christopher Lee wasn't given a bigger role in the movie, because he always brings something unique to the movies he was in.

The Max character was just genuinely disturbed and creepy, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan was really nicely cast for this role.

The storyline in "The Resident" was quite good and captivating, which made for some adequate entertainment.

While "The Resident" is indeed and entertaining movie, then it is hardly the type of movie that has enough contents in its storyline and plot to support more than a single viewing.

I have to admit i wasn't blown away by the film, but saying that it kept my attention from start to end and was watchable. Swank was excellent as the new resident of a seemingly cheap flat. She undoubtedly is a fantastic actress and she truly came alive in this film.

You pretty much know whats going to happen about 30 minutes in, as this kind of voyeuristic thriller has been done on countless occasions. But it bounces along at a rapid pace and without the audience getting bored.

Overall a good 7/10.

The Resident (2011)

** (out of 4)

Really disappointing film from Hammer about an ER doctor (Hilary Swank) who moves into a lavished apartment in Brooklyn and soon discovers that her kind-hearted landlord (Jeffrey Dean MOrgan) is actually obsessed with her. THE RESIDENT has some nice performances, good direction and a few clever moments but in the end it's really a misfire as there's no energy in anything we're seeing and what we are seeing is something that has already been done to death and this film adds nothing new to the mix. What we've basically got here is a "psycho from hell" movie but it never works because there's never any tension going on. The entire film seems to run twice as long as it actually does and I think the main reason for this is that everything we're watching we've seen in much better movies. The only real difference is that the psycho has pretty much build the apartment so that there are many different areas where he can sneak into it or simply spy on his victim. This gives us some pretty silly moments including one where the landlord likes to hide under the bed until the victim falls asleep and then he sucks on her fingers! We also get a scene where he uses her toothbrush. Yeah, that's scary. Both Swank and Morgan do a very good job in their roles and there's no question that they have some nice chemistry during the early portion of the film. It's just the screenplay really gives neither one any place to go and the majority of the time we just see Swank taking her clothes off (including some nude scenes) and Morgan watching her. Christopher Lee has a supporting part here and it was nice to see him. THE RESIDENT has a clever idea here and there but sadly the majority of what we're watching is just downright boring and just leads to one predictable scene after another.

I expected Hilary Swank to produce so much better, but this film was merely a vehicle for her to show off her body which is a surprise from an Oscar-winning actress.

The direction and atmosphere was suspenseful, but the lack of depth to the plot and narrative was such a disappointment given such good production. There are unanswered questions and missed opportunities which are hugely frustrating given the quality of filming.

I was glad not to have watched this in a cinema because I would have felt trapped and assaulted to have sat all the way through the chasing and fighting in the last 20 minutes. As it was, with control of the fast forward, I could skip the repetitive hide and seek.

There was no satisfying explanation for this perverted stalking landlord choosing his tenant, and no intelligent reason for wanting to watch until the end, unless you just enjoy gratuitous violence.

Suitable for post-pub group viewing, Resident is fine for mindless scares; but the lack of whodunnit and whydunnit just leaves the viewer wondering why did I watch it.