'The Rental' Review

 
R: Violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexualityRuntime: 1 Hr and 28 MinutesProduction Company: Black Bear PicturesDistributor: IFC FilmsDirector: Dave FrancoWriter: Dave Franco, Joe SwanbergCast: Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand, Jeremy Allen White, Toby HussRelease Date: July 24, 2020
Two couples on an oceanside getaway grow suspicious that the host of their seemingly perfect rental house may be spying on them. Before long, what should have been a celebratory weekend trip turns into something far more sinister, as well-kept secrets are exposed and the four old friends come to see each other in a whole new light.
Would you look at that? Dave Franco is following the Franco family legacy by becoming a filmmaker — a writer/director, to be exact — and his debut happens to be a horror flick. The Rental is a low-budget indie horror movie that centers on the worst possible situation that could occur while Airbnb-ing a house on a getaway trip… you know… like many other modern-day narratives within the genre. As far as debuts go, Dave’s first directorial outing is more impressive than his older brother’s… or most of his directorial work in general. However, as far as horror films go, The Rental is nothing special. 
Franco accomplishes the basic principles of crafting a decent horror flick, the most important being a creepy and tense atmosphere. Given that the film takes place in the woods at an Airbnb, Franco successfully provides an unnerving mood, especially through the cinematography at night. There’s a scene where several characters enter a hot tub and its steam turns into a misty fog which makes up much of the foreground and creates the perfect atmosphere. Even when nothing horrific is going on (it’s a slow burn of a narrative), Franco incorporates exterior wide shots of the house through a mysterious perspective. The editing is also pleasantly effective. There were several off-screen kills that shook me, but maybe it’s because I’m a baby to the genre and I get scared by everything.
As you can probably tell by now, I think Franco exhibits great craftsmanship as a filmmaker. From a screenplay perspective, on the other hand, The Rental is very weak. Despite the good performances by the ensemble cast (Dan Stevens, Sheila Vand, Jeremy Allen White, and Alison Brie), the characters are terrible, one-dimensional people with basic dialogue. The setup tells you the exact path that the narrative is going to take due to the handsy bond between two characters. You can tell what the conflict between the two parties will be by the 20-minute mark and yes, it involves cheating. The drama itself is relatively enticing, but the weak dialogue drags it down.
The only character you should be emotionally gravitating towards is not even genuine, for she is a victim of racism. OH YEAH, this movie has race relations in it and it's handled so poorly. Mina, the only non-White character of the group, is subjected to the house owner/host’s heavy racism. This racism is utilized to build conflict and a faux antagonist, which rubbed me the wrong way. Because of that, empathy towards Mina feels manipulative rather than genuine. The movie is called The Rental and it’s set on the horrors that can occur in an Airbnb. Just like many of this summer’s horror movies thus far (which thankfully all bear short running times), the horror elements activate an hour into the story where it finally acts upon its title, resulting in me questioning the hour of pointlessness that preceded it. I don’t know what it is about modern horror movies, but the ones I’ve seen recently have such a lame slow-burn execution that isn’t as cohesive as the story it sets up. While The Rental is more narratively coherent than other summer horror releases, such as The Beach House or You Should Have Left, it still suffers from a sluggish pace and builds up unnecessary story elements. Man, this has been a weak summer for horror movies. That being said, I’m interested in seeing what Franco has up his sleeves as a filmmaker… just not as a screenwriter. Rating: 2.5/5 | 53%