{"id":20883,"date":"2020-07-22T14:07:15","date_gmt":"2020-07-22T21:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=20883"},"modified":"2020-07-22T14:07:15","modified_gmt":"2020-07-22T21:07:15","slug":"the-rental-is-a-well-acted-if-overly-familiar-genre-pic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=20883","title":{"rendered":"THE RENTAL is a Well-Acted if Overly Familiar Genre Pic"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/24_0007_B-merged.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-15337\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>This title from IFC Films will be available for streaming\non most platforms Friday, July 24<sup>th<\/sup>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you and some friends are thinking about booking a nice\nvacation property for the weekend, the new film <em>The Rental<\/em> might make\nyou think twice about the idea. Most assuredly not sponsored by Airbnb, the\nfeature attempts a modest twist on the tried formula of taking a group of\nindividuals, putting them in a remote location and allowing them to be picked\noff by a psycho. It\u2019s very well performed and has some tense moments, although\nthe entire concept does feel overly familiar and could have used an extra\nsurprise or two to help it stand apart from others of its ilk. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Rental-hug-FIXED-1024x581.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20885\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The story begins with Charlie (Dan Stevens) and co-worker Mina (Sheila Vand) planning a getaway with their significant others at a posh and expensive home on the ocean coast. After a strange booking issue, Charlie eventually nabs the spot. He and his wife Michelle (Alison Brie) drive to the location with his troubled sibling Josh (Jeremy Allen White) and his girlfriend, the aforementioned Mina. The foursome arrives at the gorgeous home and are let in by Taylor (Toby Huss), the creepy and perhaps racist brother of the homeowner. After enjoying some recreational drugs, difficulties ensue as co-workers Charlie and Mina begin flirting and cracks in the group\u2019s relationships begin to surface. Things get even worse when it becomes clear that they\u2019re all being watched by a shadowy figure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To its benefit, the performers are excellent and a lot of\ntime is spent developing the characters. In fact, beyond a few awkward\nencounters with Taylor, the first half of the movie is really about their\nfraying connections. Charlie and Mina seem a little too familiar and close with\none another, leading to concerns from Josh and eventually Michelle. As events\nprogress, Michelle becomes frustrated when her plans are pushed aside by the group.\nMina feels anger towards the property owner for having her rental offer\nrejected, bringing it up with the caretaker. Even the brothers have a testy\nrelationship, with Josh being seen as the black sheep of the family. A lot of\nattention goes into the personal dynamics. It\u2019s good for the characters and\nwhen they make bigger mistakes creates drama, but it does cause one to wonder\nif these people are ultimately going to be their own worst enemies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Rental-fence-FIXED-1024x607.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20886\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the eventual villain does appear in later sections of\nthe movie, the figure is an intimidating and threatening presence with a\ndiabolical and unsettling fetish. Although the lighting feels a bit too dark in\ncertain scenes, the camera does a fine job of creating an eerie atmosphere and effectively\nplacing the stalker in the background. As the danger reaches its peak, there\nare also a couple of anxious moments and one grimly funny scene as the\ncharacters attempt to take care of a problem at the edge of a cliff. These\nscenes are well handled and effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Still, there are some stumbling blocks with the script.\nDespite the character focus, genre clich\u00e9s are still being utilized throughout.\nThe leads do silly things and make bad decisions. They even begin separating\nthemselves from each other while being hunted down by a familiar, <em>Friday the\n13<sup>th<\/sup><\/em>-style killer. There\u2019s not a lot to the finale that comes as\na surprise or buck trends in any significant way. As such, while the film ends\nup feeling like a well performed and classier take on a slasher film, it still\nrelies on tropes and doesn\u2019t truly distinguish itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/Rental-tree-FIXED-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20887\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is a decent enough effort for horror fans that offers\ntalent in front of and behind the camera, but one that hits all of the expected\nbeats. Those looking for a capable slasher film will be reasonably entertained\nby <em>The Rental<\/em>, but may also wonder why the movie didn\u2019t attempt to\nstretch itself and throw in more curves and shocks along the way.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This title from IFC Films will be available for streaming on most platforms Friday, July 24th. If you and some friends are thinking about booking a nice vacation property for the weekend, the new film The Rental might make you think twice about the idea. Most assuredly not sponsored by Airbnb, the feature attempts a [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":20884,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[198,1063,5104,9319,9656,10599,11705,16860,18229,18515,18935,22023,22024,22025,22026,22825,22972],"class_list":["post-20883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-198","tag-alison-brie","tag-dan-stevens","tag-horror","tag-ifc-films","tag-jeremy-allen-white","tag-killer","tag-remote","tag-sheila-vand","tag-slasher","tag-stalker","tag-the-rental","tag-the-rental-film-review","tag-the-rental-movie-review","tag-the-rental-review","tag-thriller","tag-toby-huss"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20883"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20883\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}