• The Rental is sort of half-way between The Cabin in the Woods and some of Polanski’s chamber dramas (Cul-de-sac, Death and the Maiden)
  • Part drama, part horror and part thriller- the type of thriller where the vise continually tightens
  • Directed by Dave Franco- brother of James- and it is perceptively scribed and lean – 88 minutes. It has modest aims and that running time suits- if this is another 20-minutes longer it may not be in the archives
  • Dead Calm feels like another comparison.
  • The four main cast members are fine- but I think Franco made a shrewd move casting veteran Toby Huss (Rescue Dawn, The Invitation) in a key role
  • It does sort of turn into a monster movie with a Michael Myers – Halloween-type character and motivation (it would be a stretch to call this a meditation on surveillance/privacy) is a bit of an issue
  • Recommend but not in the top echelon of films for 2020