Franco’s The Rental impresses as both a directorial debut and a chilling new indie horror. Who knew the babyfaced Franco brother had such a keen eye for tense aesthetic.
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The Rental stands out as a polished and entirely modern entry into indie horror, in both its’ concept and plot. An Airbnb-style holiday home serves as the perfect setting for a creepy atmosphere and the gradual unraveling of its, flawed, but very real inhabitants.
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At first, The Rental isn’t all that scary. The tense mood is both helped and hindered by its unnecessarily attractive cast; the boyishly-charming Dan Stevens reeling in yet another convincing and relatable performance as Charlie. Alongside his girlfriend Michelle (Alison Brie), brother Josh, as well as Josh’s girlfriend Mina, the foursome check in to a scenic oceanside villa. Completely unaware that their celebratory weekend is bound for sinister twists and turns.
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In the first two acts, the horror develops very realistically as human errors and flaws coincide to make for believable friction between the four friends. Friction that rubs long enough to escalate into a very mild madness. Of course, at the height of tension between the four, external evils come into play quickly and to devastating effect. Once shit gets real, the slasher-type horror effect rears it’s ugly head and brings with it a certain amount of “here’s what you were waiting for.”
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Franco deftly wields a droning score and sharp yet foggy cinematography to elevate a thriller that is only as scary as it is believable. That is to say, quite. There isn’t much originality to The Rental’s horror elements. Instead, it comes off as a modernizing of traditional road-trip / couple’s getaway-type slasher fare.
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Nevertheless, Franco’s first foray into horror and directing is a worthy weekend watch that promises very-believable characters and plotting, as well as a ratcheted climax that is sure to trigger a few hair-raising jumps and yelps.
