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The Resident, directed by Antti Joniken is a thriller starring Hilary Swank (Million Dollar Baby, Boys Don’t Cry) and Jeffery Dean Morgan (The Possession).
Recently single ER doc Juliet Deverea (Hilary Swank) lucks out when she finds a gorgeous, large, empty apartment in Brooklyn which fits her budget and seems too good to be true. Bowled over by the low asking price and the kind, handsome owner, Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) Juliet wastes no time in moving in.
Unfortunately the apartment, is in fact, too good to be true. Thanks to the seemingly jovial and caring landlord Max who obviously has a weird relationship with his father, August (Christopher Lee- The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars). At first Max’s helpfulness is endearing and even perhaps alluring, but his eagerness soon gives way to an obsessive psycho voyeur, creeping around Juliet’s apartment at night and watching her from the warren of secret passages and spy holes conveniently located throughout the building.
Juliet eventually starts to suspect something’s amiss and decides to take matters into her own hands in order to figure out the truth about what’s happening to her and why she feels so weird in the morning. Though the closer she gets, it causes Max to step out from the shadows for a finale that wraps up somewhat abruptly.
The music adds anticipation to the proceedings and the art direction brings in a thrilling feel to the atmosphere. The home invasion theme is still unnerving in itself, and the acting is admirable, thanks to a well-assembled cast of Swank, Morgan and Lee all doing well in their roles.
The climax is definitely the letdown of the movie but overall, The Resident has a nicely handled suspense and I’d say give it a go as it isn’t terrible, but it’s nothing new.
WICKED RATING: 5.5/10 [usr 5.5]
Title: The Resident
Director(s): Antti Jokinen
Writer(s): Antti Jokinen, Robert Orr
Stars: Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lee Pace
Year: 2011
Studio/ Production Co: Exclusive Media Group, Hammer Film Productions
Budget: $20,000,000 (estimated)
Language: English
Length: 91mins
Sub-Genre: Mystery, Thriller
