The Rental Blu-ray Review
“The Rental” is well worth a rental.
In “The Rental,” Charlie and Michelle and Charlie’s brother Josh and his girlfriend Mina (who also happens to be Charlie’s business partner) decide to rent a picturesque remote cliffside home for a weekend, but it doesn’t turn out to be much of a vacation. In addition to encountering the creepy, racist caretaker, there is a lot of drama amongst the 4 as Charlie has an affair with Mina. That becomes the least of their concerns, however, when they discover cameras in the house. Is the caretaker spying on them or is someone more dangerous lurking in the shadows?
Dave Franco steps behind the camera as both the director and co-writer (Joe Swanberg being the other screenwriter) of “The Rental” and it’s clear that he shows real promise in both areas. With this mumblecore horror-thriller, Franco manages to create an intense story that is both familiar and fresh. The timely story deals with privacy, secrets, relationships, racism, trust and the valid concerns of the vacation rental business, but it’s also very much a horror film involving a mysterious assailant. “The Rental” could have easily devolved into just another routine “characters in peril from a crazed individual” flick, but this one has a refreshingly eerie, dark, and disturbing edge to it. The ending in particular was simultaneously unnerving and surprising which is rare to see nowadays.
The cast is aces here with Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand and Jeremy Allen White all coming off as convincing and game for this genre material. Stevens and Brie may be the big names here, but it’s Sheila Vand who gives the film’s strongest and most impactful performance as Mina.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: 2.39:1 1080p. How does it look? This transfer perfectly captures Christian Sprenger’s cinematography style.
Audio Track: 5.1 DTS-HD MA. How does it sound? The 5.1 track does the job.
Extras:
* “The Rental” trailer and other IFC Films trailers
* “Behind The Scenes Of Rental”- A 5 ½ minute extra that contains set footage, cast interviews, story discussions and more.
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