Le quatrième étage

The 4th Floor(1999) Inane suspense about young woman(Juliette Lewis) who moves into her late Aunts walk-up apartment in New York City. Since this is a fairly short movie, it doesn't take very long for Ms. Lewis to find that she has some very bizarre neighbors. She is warned by one (payed by an almost un-recognizable, Shelley Duvall) to stay away from certain tenants and is given a list of rules of the building that would choke a horse. All heck breaks loose from there. The film is very predictable and the stalker of Ms. Lewis should be learned of by mid -film for many viewers. Lewis is an interesting actress and is not hard to look out but the real disappointment is William Hurt who plays Lewis' weatherman boyfriend. Hurt looks bored, has a very bad hair weave and its sad that an actor with his status has been reduced to second rate roles. No fire in him at all. Overall '4ht Floor' is a mediocre flick and cant be over soon enough. rated 2 of 5 stars.

If the majority of these reviews were written by people under 28,you're forgiven.If not,well-there's a monstrous gap in your film education.

Since every last plot line,lighting concept,and even verbatim dialogue was copped directly from Polanski's "The Tenant"(masterpiece)and Hitchcock's "Rear Window"(another masterwork),a proper homage should have been done here,since the control-maniac weatherman boyfriend went to all the trouble to re-create the paranoid world of the film,"The Tenant",in order to force his independent girlfriend to move back in with him,including the elaborate hieroglyphic hallucinations(courtesy of Ms. Simone Schuul,of "The Tenant").The 2 films should have been featured as "characters" in the movie.Of course,this would require the film to elevate itself to black comedy,which requires talent,none of which was present here,except 2 talented actors selling out to do a parasitic piece of cr_p like this.If you want to see a way better ripoff of "The Tenant",see "Apartment Zero"(1987?),a South American production with Colin firth and Hart Bochner.At least there's an original twist there.

When the build-up of a movie is as good as it is in "The 4th Floor", the third act will almost inevitably have to be somewhat disappointing. The director, who is a first-timer to boot, does a very good job of creating a sinister, eerie atmosphere and keeping us hooked, always in doubt about who the guilty party is. Then in the last 10 minutes, it all becomes a routine slasher film, complete with half-baked plot "explanations" and a gratuitous "twist ending". Still, for the most part this an excellent little thriller, and definitely worth your time. (***)

Effective and original little thriller set on the island of Manhattan about a young woman terrorized in her rent-controlled apartment by unknown forces that want her out.

Juliette Lewis, Jane Ehelin, is at her feisty best as the victim of this horror drama who won't let herself be driven out of her apartment as the terror below her that at first is just annoying begins to turn deadly. The movie "The 4th Floor" has a lot of false leads as to who the person or persons are that are terrorizing the hell out of Jane. If your very attentive you'll notice something almost at the beginning of the movie, that is repeated in the films final sequence, why all of this is happening to her.

After her Aunt Cecile was killed from a fall down the stairs of her building it was found out in Aunt Cecile's lease that she put Jaen on it as co-occupant to her apartment. Jane was all set to move in with her boyfriend Greg Harrison, William Hurt, a local TV weatherman in the house that he just bought in the New York city suburb of Westchester County. Jaen instead canceled her plans in order to move into that empty and very affordable apartment in the city. As soon as Jaen moved in things began to happen all originating from the 4th floor, the apartment just underneath her.

The director and writer of the movie "The 4th Floor" leave a lot of red herrings as well as yellow and orange maggots and white and gray mice to what is behind all this and you almost suspect everyone in the movie that Jaen comes in contact with. The ending is quite a surprise because even when it comes it still may keep you hanging as to what was the reason for tormenting Jaen and driving her almost mad and out of her brownstone apartment. The very last scene in the movie really explains it all.

Besides Juliette Lewis William Hurt is very good in an unusually small but important role so are Shelley Duvall, Martha Stewart, no not the Martha Stewart in the news. There's also Austin Pendleton, Mr. Collins, as Jaen's neighbors and a very good performance by Tobin Bell the locksmith and next-door neighbor of Jean who knew a lot more to what was happening in Jane's building then what he let her on to.

Tension-pack and really creepy movie that will make your skin crawl as Jaen is slowly constricted by the four walls around her as the terror, that's a lot closer to her then she thinks, closes in on her for the movies surprising as well as really weird and shocking conclusion."The 4th Floor" is a lot better then you would, or I did, expect from many of the negative reviews that it got and is well worth seeing.

I was looking last night in my video shop and found this in the really cheap area and thought hmmm the story line looks ok, straight to video so I thought what the hey i'll get it out and see what it's like.

I strongly reccomend watching this film alone with the lights out. The film itself is nothing special no big special effects, but I still found it quite scary. The feeling of being alone and lack of privacy and conspiracy all seem like powerful points to this film. A definite Rosemarys Baby comes through with the strange characters all being possible suspects and the building itself almost feeling alive very shining. (Note the lens on the room 4's door).

The films has it all frights, the bad guy is truly crazy and the twist at the end leaves a nasty taste in your mouth.

If you have seen all the new releases definitly give this a try. I can't promise high budget but can promise you the creeps