Taglines: She thought she was living alone.
Juliet Devereau, an emergency room surgeon, rents an apartment in New York City from Max. Juliet has recently broken up with her boyfriend Jack after she caught him having an affair, but she still has feelings for him. Unbeknownst to Juliet, someone is stalking her, observing her from across the street and even entering her apartment
At a party, Juliet bumps into Max and flirts with him. As they walk home, Jack follows them from across the street. Juliet and Max kiss, and later go on a date together. A flashback reveals that Max is the one stalking Juliet. He has rebuilt her apartment to include secret passageways and a two way mirror which he can use to watch her.
Juliet breaks off her romantic relationship with Max because of her feelings with Jack. Max continues to observe Juliet secretly and sees her and Jack have sex. Afterwards he begins drugging Juliet’s wine so he can be closer to her while she is unconscious. After oversleeping for the third time in two weeks, Juliet becomes suspicious that she may have been drugged and has security cameras installed in her room.
After a date with Juliet, Jack is attacked and injured by Max. That night, Max drugs Juliet and attempts to rape her, but she awakens and he flees after giving her an injection. The next morning Juliet finds the cap from the hypodermic. As work she has her blood and urine analyzed and discovers high levels of Demerol and other drugs. She rushes back home and finds Jack’s belonging there but no sign of him. A nightshirt of her is in a location where she did not leave it. She checks the security camera footage and sees Max assaulting her.
Max enters her apartment and tries to get her to drink some wine, but she refuses. He then assaults her, attempting to stab her with a hypodermic. She gets away and locks herself in the bathroom, but Max breaks in and pulls her into one of the secret passageways. There she sees the body of Jack, who has been murdered by Max. Juliet shoots Max with a nail gun and escapes.
About the Production
Shooting took place in New York and New Mexico from 21 May to 11 July 2009. The film was shown in a limited number of American cinemas on 18 February 2011, and was then released direct to DVD in the United States on 29 March 2011. It also received a cinema release in numerous other countries, including the United Kingdom on 11 March 2011, the Netherlands on 7 April 2011, and in Brazil on 22 July 2011.
Thus far, the film has received a primarily negative response from critics scoring 36% on Rotten Tomatoes; Robbie Collins of News of the World gave the film two stars and criticised the plot holes and lack of originality. Katherine Murphy of Trinity News said “The Resident is a voyeuristic thriller that never actually scares, thrills or excites.”
The Resident Review
The Resident is a voyeuristic thriller that never actually scares, thrills or excites. It is another generically tame game of cat and mouse that reveals its plot twist too early and boasts of big names to fill seats. Antti Jokenin’s direction is decent and the cinematography is well above par but this cannot mask the clichéd script, miscast actors and most certainly cannot excuse the blood-drenched finale.
Juliet Devereau (Hilary Swank) is a newly single A&E doctor who has moved to New York after her boyfriend (Jack Lee) cheated with another woman. In her search for an apartment she uncovers a newly-renovated sixth floor paradise with as much charisma and charm as the shy but suave landlord, Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Swank, who has obviously never seen a horror film, chooses to ignore the looming presence of the ailing grandfather (Christopher Lee) and accept the strange, nocturnal occurrences that plague the building. Run away, Hilary, run away!
The introduction is pleasantly surprising. Swank and Lee are household names who command our attention, and we offer it to them. However, a choppy, over-edited flashback sequence undermines the possibility of a compelling narrative, as it succeeds in foregrounding Morgan’s status as the ominous landlord. This is followed by a series of almost laughable encounters (one in which he sucks and bites on Swank’s fingers in a cringe-inducing manner.) His ability to embody the warm, welcoming Max of the first half-hour is undermined by his inability to portray the chronically disturbed Max in the final scenes. However, Lee is eerily potent but under-utilised as he spends most of his time lurking in doorways.
Antti Jokenin’s latest offering cumulates in an inevitably blood-soaked finale with few actual scares. One cannot help but recall Chekhov’s theory that “one must not [show] a loaded rifle…if no one is thinking of firing it”. Replace the word rifle with nailgun and perhaps the film’s brutally bloodthirsty close will succeed making you vomit or laugh. Or both.
The Resident
Directed by: Antti Jokinen
Starring: Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lee Pace, Christopher Lee, Aunjanue Ellis, Nana Visitor, Penny Balfour, Michael Badalucco
Screenplay by: Antti Jokinen
Production Design by: J. Dennis Washington
Cinematography by: Guillermo Navarro
Film Editing by: Stuart Levy, Bob Murawski
Costume Design by: Ann Roth
Set Decoration by: Wendy Ozols-Barnes, Justin Scoppa Jr.
Art Direction by: Guy Barnes
Music by: John Ottman
MPAA Rating: R for violence, language and brief sexuality and nudity.
Studio: Hammer Films
Release Date: February 18, 2011
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