THE RESIDENT (a.k.a. The Sublet) *** Canada 2015 Dir: John Ainslie 78 mins
From the producers of BITE (2015) comes an interesting psychological horror that will leave you disturbed. Newly engaged couple Joanna (Tianna Nori) and Geoff (Mark Matechuk) move in to a sublet apartment with their new born baby. At first everything seems normal but its not long till things start taking a turn for the worse.
Geoff is an actor so naturally is in and out of the home alot which leaves Joanna alone to cope with the baby. Her day to day jobs around the home soon become monotonous and this is when things start becoming darker in the home. Geoff comes back from work in foul moods and is often looking for an argument. Joanna keeps telling him there is something wrong with the home but naturally he doesn’t believe her. This is despite that there is odd banging’s in the home and furniture moves around seemingly by itself. Within the home is a room that hides a dark secret which should probably be left well alone. Written by John Ainslie and Alyson Richards this film is far from original but it makes up for it with compelling characters and dialogue that couples can relate to. There is a couple of plot holes but when you see the film you can decide whether they are part of the supernatural element or is it Joanna going further into madness. There is a bit of the old red sticky stuff in the film but this is a film mainly deeply routed in the psychological element of horror. Great performances from everyone all round especially to Tianna Nori as Joanna who really brings the whole movie together. Check this out if you are wanting to see a film that is creepy and often disturbing.
Review by Peter ‘Witchfinder‘ Hopkins