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Plot

1990: David, 40, looks after his dementia mom. He uses a video dating service to no avail. He buys a "Rent-A-Pal" video tape and things change.

Cast

The directional debut of Jon Stevenson and stars Lord King Emperor of all us nerds, Wil Wheaton.

Verdict

Rent-A-Pal was a movie I watched because I wanted to see something before bed and I couldn't be bothered to spend much time scrolling through the streaming service. I had no expectations, I had never heard of the film and I was going in blind and that's rare and appreciated.

If you're expecting a horror, you'll be disappointed as it simply isn't Think of it as a slow burn thriller with the core themes of loneliness and mental health.

It's a solemn sad tale that doesn't really let up, it's dark, it's gripping and unexpectedly it was surprisingly unique and kept my attention throughout.

Wheaton was great here, the films construction is solid and though I'd argue it's very niche it worked for me and I walked away deeming it one of the better movies I've seen in a while.

Rants

Something I took away from the film was nostalgia, did I ever participate in VHS dating? No, in fact I don't know if it's ever been a thing here in the UK and certainly doesn't come across very practical. But VHS, the 90's, it reminds me of the good ol'days of visiting Blockbuster, that wonderful feeling of a VHS block and the noise it made when you moved it. I miss those days, digital doesn't have the same magic.

Breakdown

Very unique Fascinating premise Good performances Very niche Drags in places.

So get it out of the "horror movie" genre. Once you view it as a character study, a dark one at that, it may be better reviewed. With a low budget, the director / producer / writer managed to put together a very well done, character-driven, engaging little movie. The cinematography was very good, the tension was palpable, the dementia was well portrayed. Thoughts of "Requiem for a Dream" and even "Taxi Driver" went through my head as I watched. Definitely recommend for what it is.

Well that was a surprise. I definitely wasn't expecting this movie to be as good as it was. Other then the ending I thought this movie was really good. It had a great cast and original plot. I can't really think of another film quite like it. I wouldn't necessarily call it a horror film though. It was more like a dark comedy. 6 stars from me.

Long and slow movie to get to the end. It's a bit creepy which was a nice tone once it got to that part. The lasagna was the real villain in this movie.

This is not a horror so don't go in it for that. It's more of a psychological thriller than anything, overall it's a decent film nonetheless. Maybe a little slow at the start but stick with it Worth a watch 7/10

Original story, great setting (totally has the 60s vibe), but a little dragged out and predictable ending. Btw, David (Brian Landis Folkins), is outstanding! Every actor here has great performance but this guy.....is on another level. Hope gets noticed and casted by a major Hollywood studio, would be the perfect supervillain!

It takes a lot of chutzpah to put as much into a film as Jon Stevenson's obviously put into Rent-a-Pal, a radically left-of-center psych horror/thriller in the mold of Repulsion and Mark Hanlon's 1999 Buddy Boy, with a little Videodrome dashed in for extra queasiness.

What I most liked about this film --- and what makes it very unique in the horror genre --- is that it dives unflinchingly into the realism of some very disturbing subjects: loneliness, depression, hopelessness, dementia, but also hits genuine notes of contentment, comfort, true love, redemption and yeah, back to hope, if only briefly. In short, it goes *everywhere*, like any legit character-driven drama, never short-changing or short-cutting despite that it's entire premise revolves around what should be a very tedious gimmick. That can only happen if everyone on cast and crew is at the top of their games, and Rent-a-Pal's band of indie shoestring nomads crush this dark gem with sledgehammer relish.

Brian Landis Folkins is mind-blowing as David Brower, a desperate, terminally isolated basement dweeb with a bad addiction to cheap bourbon, tacky VHS dating service cassettes, and a truckload of toxic childhood scars from abuse suffered at the hands of his now 73-year-old mother, who in the early 1990s is unraveling from the most horrifically realistic portrayal of dementia I've ever seen. Kathleen Brady as Mom brilliantly captures the vivid swerving between reality, fantasy, and incoherence. But Rent-a-Pal is really a showcase for Folkins, who gets more engaging as he gets less verbal, his tortured face a relief map of pain and suffering.

Yeah, everything pretty much sucks for David, although he can't even admit that to anyone, least of all himself. Then he finds "Andy" (Wil Wheaton) or actually a bargain bin cut-out video of Andy--- a bizarro dude who looks sorta like a life-size ventriloquist's dummy, complete with creepy sweater vest. Sitting on or near a chair and talking directly to the screen, Andy alternates insincerity with comments that run from patronizing to downright sadistic. At first David is amused, then intrigued, as Andy peers into the screen with his oh-so-interested active listening poses and nods and laughs enthusiastically. Then David starts to talk back, play cards, and offer up his deepest most painful memories to his new video friend.

This is where a lesser movie would have jumped ship and pulled out "the twist" --- as in... Andy is really monitoring David in his home in real time and is in reality a twisted psycho stalker... or.... Andy's video performance is *new* each time David cues up his tape. But no, nothing like this happens in Rent-a-Pal... only a few times does the film veer to the surreal or hallucinogenic. Stevenson seems to understand that would diminish his film's hypnotic spell.

When David finally meets his literal soul-mate (Amy Rutledge in a fragile heart-rending performance), Folkins has you so wrapped up in David that you're cheering him on, even as you secretly know something REALLY bad is going to happen.

It does, and that's where Rent-a-Pal will lose some people. It actually *is* a horror movie, but one whose role model is more Jeff Dahmer than Michael Myers. It did remind me a lot of Buddy Boy in tone and content, but Rent-a-Pal has much more heart. And that heart only makes it more painful when it's ripped out of you.

Watch at your own risk, but more likely great reward, if you're up for this kind of a dark journey.

Ive never heard about Jon Stevenson, who has written, produced and directed this film, but from now i will for sure remember that name. i should really like to know how on this god forsaken earth he got the idea to a story like this, is it selfexperienced, or just a quaker moment of peter smart flashingly good idea moment. what i can say is that if you dive into this story you will for sure feel the strangulation of loneliness.

its a story from the late 80's or early 90's, its the vhs video system era, where everything could be done or solved by the help of a video cassette. the vhs plays a great part of this films dynamics, so this is the abc to the vhs era. about a man, taking care of his demented mum, ,living in the basement of his mums house, he goes through the daily routine, of diper shifts, feeding time, tv-watching and bed routines, day after day, he gets more and more depraved from his situation. he is friendless, but tries to find a companion via a dating agency. in those days, fortunes where made by offering people to come and record a short film presentation of youself for lots of dollars spent, and each time you made a hit, you got the reply video for a stash of doe to take home for evaluation. but this fellow aint a lucky fisherman by the female pond, and in desperation he buys a tape from the surplus clearout salesbin, called ''rent a pal'', e.g every lonely mans best pal for advisery and confort made for you from the livingroom chair to your living room chair.

so this is the initiation fase of the story, and as it develpes, you will experience a caracter study of brilliant proportions, you do hold hand with this lonely creature as he gets more and more depraved, desillutionized, fatigued and near psychotic into a frenzy of dialouging with the coloured spots of a tv screen, where the borderline caracteristics linger in the frames of this poor fellow.

its a small casted film, its made on a low budget, but the production dont bear signs of that. the staging and very realistic gadgets and stuff giving a timetrue realistic feel of this era of the last century are just exquisitlly well done. the score have the kind of tension that gives you the feel of , this is a good movie, appears from the very start.

acting is superb, an oscar from me to the male lead for his true deranged acting on a high truth factor, and the mother caracter as a dementedf feature, may well get nominated for best female assisting role. a demented caracter aint easy, and has to be observed thouroughly to overwhelm and convince a grumpy old man that has earned his doe at a geriatrics care facility for 95% of his working carriere, having dealt with hundreds of all levels of dementia at a daily basis.

well this is a true and honest review of a film that takes you into the grey, dry, and nearly darkest corners of a lonely mans life. there are not much gore and blood, but assure you a lot of funny and gutwrenching moments, its a high recommend .

A good thriller about how lonely a person can be and how the ressentment of life can bring you to the break of madness. With Wheaton bringing some great and creepy acting to the table.

For such a low budget film with no very big name Hollywood actors, this is actually a very good picture. It doesn't have any big stunts, CGI or typical Hollywood scare tactics, but it doesn't need any. The acting is exceptionally well done and well cast to fit the script. The actors are more than capable of executing a creepy discomfort from beginning to end, which is a nice change from the traditional gory hack and slash films lately that just try to produce shock value. There are some gory scenes here and there, but they're evenly spaced out and not overly dramatic. Last but not least, it has Will Wheaton, so if you're a big Star Trek TNG fan, you'll like that he's in it and the role really allows him to spread his acting wings.

Loner David (Folkins) lives with his mother who's riddled with dementia and longs for a deeper connection in his life. After video dating doesn't go his way, he discovers a VHS tape in a discount bin for something called Rent-A-Pal. Upon putting the tape in the VCR, he meets a jolly new friend named Andy (Wheaton) who becomes his latest obsession.

Soon, all David wants to do is stay in the basement talking to Andy on the TV as his mental capacities slip away and even Lisa (Rutledge), a potential love interest, can't pry him away.

Rent-A-Pal harkens back to the bleak 70's psychodramas of yesteryear and this downbeat tone might not be to everyone's taste. It also leaves a good deal up to individual audience member interpretation and doesn't spell everything out for you.

The performances are uniformly excellent all around with Folkins carrying the film with his sad sack David. It's to his credit that he remains watchable even while playing such a pitiful and desperate character. Wheaton is every bit his equal as the too-chirpy Andy who might be more sinister than he initially lets on.

40 year old David lives at home with his 73 year old mother and acts as her full-time carer as she suffers from dementia. After unsuccessfully trying to find love via a video dating agency for the last 6 months, David opts to buy a video called Rent-a-Pal hoping that this will provide him with a viable short-term substitute. However, the more David watches this video the more he finds his life spiralling out of control...

Rent-a-Pal is an example of a film that does a slow-burn approach correct; there's an almost quaint, sedate, direct-to-video feel about the first half of the film as David quietly goes about his day-to-day life looking after his mother. But as things progress there's a simmering tension to the picture as David's obsession and gradual detachment from reality begins to unfold...

It's fair to say that the contrast from the first half of the film to the second half is a tad jolting and some may be taken by surprise at just how disturbing and brutal the film becomes in its second half (me included), but if you can hack it then the film does provide a good examination in to the gradual descent in to madness of a lonely individual; you can make what you will of David's interactions with Andy, but personally I feel that David was 'hearing what he wanted to here.' most of the time.

The acting is pretty good and helps to create the disturbing atmosphere that permeates the film; particular mention should go to Brian Landis Folkins for his terrific portrayal, but Wil Wheaton's creepy turn is also worthy of mention.

Rent-a-Pal is both disturbing and bizarre, but at the same time it's compelling and fascinating to watch (although I'll admit it won't be for all tastes). Still if you can handle these sort of things in a film then you're in for something of a treat with Rent-a-Pal.

This is an interesting one.

'Rent-A-Pal' firmly establishes the timeframe of its setting, and the media broadcast that gives the year as 1992 is the least of it. The very old tube-style TVs, VHS, the station wagon, rollerskating rinks - to say nothing of video dating. A precursor to Internet dating, this very specific service nonetheless feels like such an oddity now - and is a throwback that handily lends itself to the atmosphere the film conveys.

This isn't a movie that can be neatly classified into any specific genre. One might reasonably call it a thriller, but it's one of the most understated, slow-burn thrillers I've ever seen. 'Rent-A-Pal' is more like a character study zeroed in on David (Brian Landis Folkins) as loneliness becomes desperation, then obsession, and worse. And Folkins portrays that descent, that gradual unraveling, with surprising, unexpected deftness.

There's a level of unyielding surrealism built into the feature as the friendship David forges with "Andy" (Wil Wheaton), and his growing fascination with the Rent-A-Pal VHS, takes over his life, and not just defies but escapes the boundaries of a recorded transcript. Wheaton has moved past acting to focus for some time now on his writing, but his turn as well-dressed Andy is irrepressibly creepy, and entrancing. It's honestly a joy to see him in this.

Throughout the feature, Jimmy Weber's score varies from tactfully understated to a little over the top - yet, somehow, perfect. Kathleen Brady's role as David's senile, elderly mother, Lucille, gives itself to an outstanding performance of the sort that is perpetually underappreciated. While our eyes are focused on David and Andy, Lucille remains in the background, a picture of swirling, unsteady emotion as her lucid moments come and go. Brady is to be commended for so capably fulfilling a part so essential, and so easily overlooked.

'Rent-A-Pal' is fascinating. Because it takes quite a while to feel like it's going somewhere, but by the time it does, we realize what the film has been doing all along. Only at the climax does the narrative kick up with a notable sense of suspense, but the tension has been boiling for so long at that point that the release is staggering. Through it all, Folkins' performance as David shows us a man who is losing himself. This is a picture that relies heavily on subtlety in its craft, and in its success, it is masterful.

Kudos to writer-director Jon Stevenson. This isn't a movie that's going to be for everyone, least of all those who are looking for a feature with a more driving narrative. Still, I started watching 'Rent-A-Pal' with no particular expectations, not even having heard about it previously, and in the end I'm blown away. This deserves to be seen by a far wider audience.

I have no idea why this has a rating of 6.3 !

It was slow & depressing with very little happening but, due to a rating of 6.3, I kept watching, waiting for something to happen.

I wouldn't even call it a horror, nor a psychological thriller. I suppose you could call it disturbing but not in any kind of entertaining way.

My advice, don't believe all the ratings here and give this one a miss.

I've felt that this movie needed an quick review.

If you like slow burning thrillers, weird ideas, character development and no "open ending" movies, then this film is for you. Kudos to the main actor, excellent job!

Great cinematography. The tape guy could be weirder, something was missing.

Solid 7.5/10.

In a modern world where horror movies are forced to apply the golden rule of "a scare every 10 minutes", a film like 'Rent-A-Pal' is a refreshing alternative. Not enough films respect their audience anymore, but this one does - almost to a fault. It comes in at 108 minutes long, which is roughly 18 minutes longer than 95% of modern horror movies. And it is significantly slower and more drawn out than those other films as well. This is a film that isn't going to be rushed or hurried along by anyone. It knows where its going and the route it wants to take to get there, and that's what it goes about doing. The results are pretty decent.

After reading the synopsis for 'Rent-A-Pal' I wasn't exactly sure how the film was going to go. It was hard for me to imagine how they could pull off a film like that. Even still, as I was watching it, it was more unique than I expected it to be. It was hard to know whether the film just wanted you to buy into the concept, or whether there was more going on than met the eye. The film does get quite uncomfortable at times. They didn't want to make it easy on the audience and they certainly did a good job of making us squirm through the awkwardness of certain scenes.

'Rent-A-Pal' never feels in your face, or like its going out of its way to impress you. It's quite an understated film in that sense. It's a film where a long way into the runtime you may be asking yourself exactly where this is going - but in a good way. You'll ask that in a sense that you want to know, rather than out of frustration. The ending was reasonably well done I thought, without being anything mind-blowing. I had a good time with 'Rent-A-Pal' and I would call this a slightly above average film worth having a look at.

If you'd like to watch a disturbed middle aged man who lives in his dementia stricken 72yr old mothers basement, this is for you. The last 20 minutes are the horror/thriller moments, and coming from a seasoned horror movie fan - they aren't much. Lost on this one.

Aside from the genre semantics that make up the bulk of the reviews in here, there's not a whole lot to complain about with this movie. A lot of the moments are fairly predictable as they unfold before you, but in no way does it come off as cliche. Excellent performances from all the actors involved. Wheaton is especially fantastic for his role. Perfect casting and a singular vision made this movie work really well. I haven't seen any of Jon Stevenson's other work, but Im looking forward to more.