The Resident


1.5/4

Starring: Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christopher Lee, Lee Pace

Rated R for Violence, Language and Brief Sexuality/Nudity

“The Resident” is a “stranger within” thriller, and its utter failure makes you appreciate what Barbet Schroeder (“Single White Female”) and James Foley (“Fear”) accomplished.  Those were terrifying thrillers because of the skill of the actors and the directors.  “The Resident” is easily the worst thriller of this ilk, beating out the laughably silly “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle.”

Juliet (Swank) is an ER doctor who followed her boyfriend, Jack (Pace) to New York City, only to have him cheat on her.  Looking for a new place to live, she finds an amazing apartment for a great price.  The landlord, Max (Morgan) is nice, good looking and interested in her.  Unfortunately for Juliet, his interest in her goes far beyond a bouquet of roses and a kiss on the cheek.

Hilary Swank is one of the most talented actresses around.  Her performance as a transgender man in “Boys Don’t Cry” is legendary, and her other performances are strong as well.  But even an actress of her talent can’t save this snoozefest from sinking like a rock.  Part of the reason is that the villain is so miscast.  I’ll buy Jeffrey Dean Morgan as a lead in a romantic comedy or some other kind of light fare, but as a psycho stalker/rapist, he’s laughable.  Christopher Lee makes an appearance, but his role is small.  As nice as it is to see Lee Pace, he’s on screen for such a short amount of time that it’s easy to forget he’s even in it.

Antti Jokinen has absolutely no sense of what it takes to create suspense.  Dark lighting and “creepy” images do not generate terror by themselves.  It takes atmosphere, rhythm and solid technique to do that.  It’s surprising that Jokinen isn’t able to create any sort of tension whatsoever.  The formula of the “stranger within” movie is almost foolproof.  Even the silliest movies of this ilk (“The Hand that Rocks the Cradle” for example) are able to create some sort of tension in the climax.  Not here.

The film’s look is dark and creepy (or at least it tries to be), so it’s kind of obvious that this isn’t going to be the romance that it starts out to be.  But you’d never suspect a movie with a two-time Oscar winner, an acting legend, and two talented and up and coming actors to be this bad.  Still, I should have been prepared.  A movie starring actors of this status that goes directly to DVD means there are some pretty substantial problems with it.

For those who want to see a roommate from hell thriller, rent “Single White Female” instead and leave this one to the dogs.

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