Room for Rent

This is a movie along the lines of Whatever Happened to Aunt Alice? with the main character, a little old lady, going a bit daft and getting dangerous. This is much better though. It grabbed me soon into it and had me squirming a couple of times. This little old lady is freshly widowed and when she finds out that her husband borrowed money and spent the money they had she decides to open her home as a BnB. She soon has a hunky lodger under whose spell she falls. Too bad for him.

It's no surprise that Lin Shaye is a great actress. She nails every role she gets to play. However, I really enjoyed this movie, a very beautifully shot movie with a good story. I think I haven't seen a movie like this before, so this was kind of unique for me.

I like indie films, this is just a human piece... no action, gore, heavy drama, e.t.c. Just human nature. Linn shaye is always a winner for me, even in her lesser films, she's phenomenal. The human psyche is fascinating and watching her mentality be explained slowly was enjoyable.

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.

Upon the death of her husband, an older woman is put in the position of needing to find a way to take care of herself financially. She opens her home as a bed and breakfast and soon becomes attached to one of her guests.

So, this isn't a bad film but there's not much to be said about it. It is a psychological thriller but there isn't much thrill to it at all. The creepy factor is there and you wonder what is coming next but there is no real climax. You are just stuck watching a slow but steady deterioration of a woman's mental state but the bang isn't there and the viewer is left feeling unsatisfied.

If you are ok with the pace and the lack of a climax, check it out. If you can't stand those things, you probably should pass this one up.