2020 / 88m - USA
Thriller
3.0*/5.0*
The Rental poster

Watches

July 25, 2020

3.0*/5.0*

A decent thriller that does pretty much everything right, but still fails to make a real impression. It's a little hard to pinpoint where exactly Franco could've done better, it's probably a bit of everything. In the end though, I was never on the egde of my seat, nor did I ever experience the tension this film was so eagerly chasing.

Two couples go to a secluded vacation home to spend the weekend. It's a simple premise and Franco doesn't do a lot to spruce it up. Instead, he goes for a slow but deliberate build-up that gradually reveals what tricks are being played. It's a tried and tested setup and it works well enough, except that the payoff just isn't that thrilling. And the little twist at the end isn't as disturbing as it is presented.

Performances are decent but though out of the ordinary. The cinematography is clean and slick, but not quite tense enough. The same can be said about the soundtrack. It's a nice bit of filler and it never gets dull or bland, in the end it just fails to stand out from all its peers and since this genre has been done to death already, that's a little disappointing.