Horror films aren’t the first thing that come to mind when bringing up Dave Franco, who is known for supporting roles in popular comedies like 21 Jump Street or Neighbors and being the younger brother of actor James Franco. Originally planning on acting in The Rental, Franco ultimately decided to direct the film in addition to writing the screenplay with Joe Swanberg and Mike Demski.
The Rental follows two couples that rent a beautiful ocean-side home for a celebratory weekend. Upon arrival, the couples realize the landlord they have rented from is openly racist, and animosity starts immediately. After the dust settles, and a night of drinking and ecstasy, the couples start to notice some red flags with their stay. They must come to an agreement to confront the landlord, who may be stalking them.
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Franco really knocked it out of the park with the casting of this film. Alison Brie (Glow, Community) has been an acting powerhouse in recent years and is also married to Franco. Her character, Michelle, is married to Charlie, played by Dan Stevens (The Guest, Downton Abbey). The second couple is Mina and Charlie’s brother Josh, made up of Sheila Vand, who got her name in horror from the extremely underrated A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, and Jeremy Allen White, who most famously plays Lip in Showtime’s Shameless. Having such a tiny tight-knit cast is so effective in an isolation film like this. Chemistry booms, and there are never too many cooks in the kitchen. None of the actors overdo one another, and although none particularly stick out as fantastic, they were all polished and good. I always appreciate a well-rounded cast over one big-money star and a group of inexperienced actors.
All the technical aspects were solid, with environmental shots being the highlight of the film for me. The Rental was shot in Oregon, showing off some of the beautiful scenery that the North-West United States has to offer. Most of the camera work was good, although I had some issues with the several POV “heavy breathing” slasher-style shots. These shots didn’t seem to fit with this type of film, so when they popped up, it took me out of the moment. I think there would have been a much creepier vibe to give me a shot of a dark patch of woods, alluding to someone being there, rather than showing me the movie through their eyes. Think Insidious rather than Black Christmas. There were some great shock moments, and the gore was decent, but used sparingly.
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The unfortunate thing about home invasion horror flicks for me, is that originality in the story becomes extremely hard to come by as more of these types of films release. Typically, you either get a triumphant revenge (The Last House on the Left) or a real bummer (The Strangers). It’s almost as if finding something in between those two is the real sweet spot. There are few of these films that offer a real uniqueness to the home invasion aspect, like You’re Next or Better Watch Out. I didn’t feel like The Rental did that, and was disappointed, because the bones were there. That is not to say there wasn’t some originality to be found, because the concept of this film is great, and I can’t think of another film that shares the exact concept. It was so close to giving me exactly what I wanted.
Overall, an extremely solid film for a directorial debut, and such a surprise coming from Dave Franco. I’m excited to see what else he has up his sleeve. Unfortunately, the pandemic threw a wrench in his release plans in the festival circuit, and it didn’t get the exposure he initially wanted, but you can purchase The Rental on Amazon for $9.99 USD.
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