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The Resident (2010)

Time Out rating

Average user rating

6 reviews

Synopsis

Hilary Swank stars in this New York-set home invasion thriller, only this time the invader is her landlord who lives downstairs.

Movie review

From Time Out London

Like ‘Paranormal Activity’, this creepy psychological thriller taps in to fears about invasions of our private space. But the threat here is tangible rather than supernatural. Still raw from her husband’s betrayal, ER surgeon Dr Juliet Devereau (Hilary Swank, pictured) moves into a new apartment in Brooklyn. The low rent and charming landlord, Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), both seem too good to be true, and so it proves. Max is soon ogling her though spyholes as she bathes and creeping around her bedroom while she sleeps. When Juliet’s ex reappears, Max’s sexual and physical threats escalate, forcing her to defend herself with smart thinking and a nail-gun.

Finnish director Antti Jokinen makes effective use of CCTV security footage captured on motion-sensitive cameras that the suspicious Juliet instals; Swank is typically credible as a confident yet vulnerable professional woman; and Morgan is subtly convincing as the insinuating Max. Sadly, Christopher Lee – in his first Hammer movie for 30-plus years – is wasted as Max’s crotchety grandfather.

Author: Nigel Floyd

Time Out London Issue 2116: 10 – 16 March, 2011

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User reviews of this film

Thomas Noctor said...

Posted on Jul 06 2011 16:40 I thought it was predictiable, average movie, wait untill it comes to TV, don't waste money renting it!

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Jane W said...

Posted on Mar 16 2011 14:23 it was quite spooky...as I was alone in the cinema, no other audience turned up

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Adrian Winchester said...

Posted on Mar 12 2011 17:15 I saw it yesterday and I think it deserves 3 stars. There isn't a lot of depth to the story, but I found it a visually stylish film with a lot of suspense and with good performances. Although the setting is different to past Hammer productions, I can't agree that there's no link to Hammer's past - I'd say it's prettyt much in the same line as Hammer psychological thrillers such as 'Fear In the Night' and 'Straight On Till Morning'.

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PJ said...

Posted on Mar 12 2011 14:35 Adrian, I have seen it, at the AFM in LA last year. OK, maybe for the film 1* is a bit low. But its a 1* overall as this film has NOTHING to do with Hammer House of Horror but they have branded it as such and seem to argue the film is more than it is as result of this. An insult to intelligent film-goers.

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Adrian Winchester said...

Posted on Mar 10 2011 17:23 PJ - why give the film one star when you have not seen it? If the new Hammer can produce films as good as LET ME IN and as intriguing-sounding as WAKE WOOD, there's a good case for a revival. The new management is actually fulfilling some of the dreams that Michael Carreras had in the 1970s, branching into theatre and publishing as well as films. It's not their fault that others allowed the company to be dormant from 1984 onwards.

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PJ said...

Posted on Mar 09 2011 19:10 The "Hammer" name is history, its just a TV library and brand name that's been bought and sold between some business men over the past 10 years. Even Charles Saatchi briefly bought it in 2001 and flipped it on to a new buyer. Best left buried...

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