The Resident is the kind of movie you put on when you have nothing else to watch. It’s a predictable thriller with a lot of cliches and not much to offer. It’s just good enough to warrant a viewing, preferably on a rainy weekday night. And if it’s autumn or winter, well, that the better. I mean, the main premise is quite good it’s just that there’s no tension to keep it going. However, there are other aspects of The Resident that work just fine. The atmosphere remains relatively good throughout, even really scary at times.
The cast is excellently led by Hilary Swank along with Dean Morgan, who’s not Javier Bardem although the two of them look like twins. Now, Dean gave one hell of a performance here, really leaning into his character while Hilary was surprisingly sexy. She also had a number of “almost nude” scenes. I have to mention the immortal Christopher Lee as well, too bad he didn’t get a bigger part. So, we will be following a young woman who moves into an apartment building with a cute and a bit odd landlord.
And yes, The Resident features almost exactly the same story as Sliver or Sleeping With The Stranger. It features solid production values and the cinematography is excellent. The same goes for direction but all of this is in vain if you know what’s going to happen. As I always say, sometimes this is exactly the movie you’re looking for. Something safe and cozy, something to run in the background while you do laundry or send a risky text. If that’s something people still do.
Juliet Devereau is a young doctor who moves into an apartment that seems too good to be true. The rent is good, the landlord is handsome and charming and everything seems great. However, she will soon find out that when things are this good something has to be wrong.
There’s one aspect of The Resident that I think is worth thinking about. And that’s just how many of these creepsters are out there. I know of at least three separate incidents where landlords or other assholes were either spying on women or aggressively pursuing them. This also means that this movie is going to hit some members of the audience harder than others, exactly because things like these do happen. Finally, if you’re looking for movies like The Resident, only much better, do check out Sleep Tight. It will fucking blow you away!
Director: Antti Jokinen
Writers: Antti Jokinen,Robert Orr
Cast: Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lee Pace, Christopher Lee, Aunjanue Ellis
Fun Facts: Both Jessica Alba and Maggie Gyllenhaal were attached to the role of Juliet.
Rating:
IMDb Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1334102/
