Room for Rent (2019 film)

Room for Rent is a 2019 mystery-horror film written by Stuart Flack, directed by Tommy Stovall and starring Lin Shaye. The movie was produced by Pasidg Productions Inc. and distributed by Uncork'd Entertainment. Room for Rent was released on February 23, 2019, at the Sedona International Film Festival in Sedona, Arizona. The film concerns an aging widow who rents a room in her house in order to make some money. Things take a deadly turn when she becomes strangely obsessed with one of her new tenants.

Room for Rent
Directed byTommy Stovall
Produced byMarc S. Sterling
Tommy Stovall
Written byStuart Flack
Starring
Music byJoseph Bishara
CinematographyBen Brahem Ziryab
Production
company
Pasidg Productions Inc.
Distributed byUncork'd Entertainment
Release date
  • February 23, 2019 (2019-02-23) (Sedona International Film Festival)
Running time
81 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Plot

Joyce Smith (Shaye), an elderly housewife in Sedona, Arizona, has lost her husband, Fred, in a slip and fall accident that occurred while he was fixing the roof. Her probate attorney finds that he owed a substantial amount of money on a loan, and, apart from $2,200 in savings, he left no other assets in his name.

While checking out a romance novel in the library, Joyce notices a periodical that teaches homeowners how to turn their properties into a bnb (bed and breakfast), a term she's more familiar with). Joyce converts her property into a bnb and invites Sarah, a writer, and her boyfriend Edward to become her lodgers. She bonds with Sarah, but Edward is put off by her cozy demeanor, and the young couple promptly leave.

Joyce longs for a relationship with a respectable man like the one pictured in her romance novel. A group of boys grope her, but another adult appears, and her attackers flee, leaving Joyce distraught and shaken.

Soon after, Robert (Rayón) moves into the same room that Joyce's previous lodgers occupied, but her domineering nature makes him cautious. She becomes infatuated with Robert, making special dishes, buying satellite TV so Robert can watch football, and dressing to impress him. When Robert isn't around, Joyce rummages through Robert's stuff using his deodorant and toothbrush.

Joyce and Sarah stay in contact through letters in which Joyce hints to Sarah of her obsession with Robert. The boys who harassed Joyce egg her house. Robert punches the leader and tells the boys not to come back. His defense of her makes Joyce's obsession with Robert even stronger.

After breaking up with Edward, Sarah visits Joyce and shares an intimate night with Robert, which prompts Joyce to spill orange juice over the breakfast table. Joyce confronts Sarah, causing a rift between Sarah and herself. An ailing neighbour, Gladys, tells Sarah that she fell out with Joyce a long time ago due to her scary abandonment issues and split-thinking. Gladys also tells Sarah that Fred forced Joyce to abort a baby. After Sarah leaves, Joyce visits Gladys and suffocates her with a pillow.

When Robert asks where Sarah went, Joyce lies, claiming that she returned to her husband and that Robert made her feel worthless. Robert catches Joyce going through his belongings and confronts her for her actions. Joyce lies to Robert, saying she acts strangely because she misses her son who passed away many years ago and whose bedroom Robert now occupies. Robert accepts the lie but remains concerned about Joyce's behavior, although he has a home-cooked meal with her. She spikes his digestif with a prescription hypnotic and sexually assaults him while he is unconscious. After the assault, Joyce rummages through his personal belongings where she finds cocaine and a large sum of money in a storage chest, suggesting he is a drug trafficker. After awakening, Robert receives a certified letter from Sarah, revealing Joyce's lies and manipulations. Robert confronts Joyce and collects his belongings, intending to move out, but Joyce bludgeons him with a frying pan, killing him. She reads Sarah's letter to Robert, in which Sarah reveals that she is pregnant.

Joyce, who has always wanted a child, invites Sarah to stay at her home and continue to write her book in peace while Joyce takes a vacation using Robert's drug money. Joyce buries Roberts's remains in the backyard and gets rid of his personal items. She tells Sarah that Robert suddenly left after reading her letter. Joyce goes on vacation leaving Sarah to keep after the house. Sarah goes to Robert's old room but finds it locked. Unbeknownst to Sarah, Joyce redesigned the room into a nursery, leaving behind a welcoming sign from grandma, foreboding her return after Sarah has given birth.

Cast
  • Lin Shaye as Joyce
  • Oliver Rayón as Robert
  • Valeska Miller as Sarah
  • Ryan Ochoa as Wayne
  • Linda Cushma as Gladys
  • Casey Nicholas Price as Edward
  • Tonya June Moore as Sheila

Release

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Room for Rent has an approval rating of 82% based on 11 reviews.[1] Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter called it "essential viewing for Lin Shaye fans" and wrote: "The supporting characters are not nearly as well-developed or interesting, feeling more like plot devices and reducing the film's overall impact. And director Stovall (Aaron's Blood), although certainly competent, doesn't infuse the proceedings with the sort of cinematic stylishness that would have elevated Room for Rent above B-movie status. Nonetheless, it's essential viewing for Lin Shaye fans, and that's more than enough."[2] Maria Lattila writing for the "Film Inquiry" told about the film: "Room For Rent is a lovely little thriller gem, a real diamond in the rough. It's not a class A film or cinema at it's purest, but it explores some fascinating themes and one of Lin Shaye's best performances.[3] Alex Saveliev from the online publication Film Threat gave the movie 7 out of 10 stars and stated: "Tommy Stoval's unpretentious descent into madness has a mercifully short running time. Fun and chilling, this bed-and-breakfast gets an extra star for its committed hostess.[4]

gollark: Finally, `Names are Limited to 32 Characte` grew up.
gollark: If you got a prize, would you just breed prizekins from it?
gollark: haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa:french_bread:aaaaaaaaatch
gollark: If it's fixed it's fixed and *locking the thread is still not really an appropriate response*.
gollark: I don't know what this biome glitch is, but TJ09s be TJ09s.

References
  1. "Room for Rent". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  2. Scheck, Frank (February 1, 2019). "'Room for Rent': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Valence Media. Retrieved June 19, 2019.
  3. Lattila, Maria. "ROOM FOR RENT: Lin Shaye's Performance Keeps This Dud Alive". Film Inquiry. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
  4. Saveliev, Alex. "Room for Rent". Film Threat. Retrieved 19 June 2019.
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