As a former Tumblr kid, it will probably come as no surprise that I was in deep with the mumblecore scene of the late aughts and early 2010s. Listen, I had Beach House playing on repeat on my iPod Nano, okay, so everything Mark Duplass, Lynn Shelton, or Joe Swanberg were putting out was exactly my jam. I loved every moment of it, what with its naturalism, low budgets, and adherence toward truthful depictions of young adult strife. So, when mumblecore merges with horror, I’m the prime audience. Such was the case with Dave Franco’s (in his feature directorial debut) The Rental. It’s The Strangers by way of mumblecore, and it’s a movie Stephen King absolutely loved. Now, it’s streaming on Hulu.
In the simplest terms, The Rental is an Airbnb horror movie. Four young adults rent a cabin for the weekend, discover something amiss with the property, and are slowly stalked and killed by unknown assailants. There are cameras in the showers, strange neighbors, and a flashing, neon, very modern warning: don’t rent someone else’s home. Those are the simplest terms. Beneath all the slasher shenanigans, however, is mumblecore heaven, and it’s that interpersonal drama that elevates The Rental above its peers. No wonder acclaimed horror writer Stephen King called it “wire-tight.”
Taking to Twitter after the film’s release, King spoke lovingly of Franco’s debut. You can check out his tweet in full below:
The “actual plot” he refers to is the even scarier interpersonal drama amidst the actual masked killers. Infidelity, betrayal, and an absolutely pulverizing scene where everyone promises to cut loose with Alison Brie’s Michelle, only to change their mind at the last minute, leaving her tripping out on MDMA by herself. Fake friends are scarier than killers.
The killers do arrive, and believe me when I say it’s fast, frenzied, furious, and absolutely terrifying. Reflecting on the broad slate of horror released in 2020, I wrote, “Dave Franco delivered stripped-down home invasion thrills and knocked my socks off with an unbearably tense cat-and-mouse thrill ride.” It’s lowkey terrifying. No, actually. High-key, it’s excellent. Take Stephen King’s word for it (and mine) and check it out on Hulu at your earliest convenience.
What do you think? Do you agree with Stephen King? Any plans to check out The Rental on Hulu? If you do, let me know over on Twitter and Instagram.
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