This Netflix movie with a strong cast looks to make you second-guess that next spur of the moment getaway, or at least trust Marriott or Hilton with your accommodations. Is “big hotel” behind this recent spate of AirBNB-themed horror?
Anxiety about new technologies has always been fodder for horror entertainment. I make this same statement, albeit in longer form with more examples, in my review about the ride share app horror film that came out in 2020. Another direct-to-streaming horror movie from 2020 is The Rental, and it turns its attention to the ubiquitous vacation rental apps for its premise. Now my family travels a reasonable amount, and I’m no stranger to AirBNB or VRBO. I have to admit, though, I have never really had any issue with those services or the hosts using them, aside from maybe the occasional kitchen without a colander or cutting board. Somebody out there is stressing about their peer-to-peer vacation rentals, though, because the idea of being spied on or double booked with a weirdo are concepts that are baked into a handful of recent horror films. Barbarian, for one, but also The Stay, and The Perfect Host, and Superhost, among others. The Rental is another among those ranks, and, more so than Barbarian at least, its horrors are tied very directly to the worst things that could happen at your next impromptu weekend away.
Following a successful deal, two business partners decide to rent a vacation home for the weekend and bring their significant others for a couple days of hiking and partying, not necessarily in that order. Despite an encounter with a creepy and seemingly racist rental host, the first half of this movie could easily be a drama about two complexly intertwined relationships. Charlie and Mina, the business partners, are clearly attracted to each other despite Charlie being married and Mina dating his brother. They end up cheating with each other after a revelatory night of drinking and ecstasy (i.e. MDMA, not the general emotion). They discuss it the next morning and agree to keep it a secret, and a one-time thing, for the benefit of their relationships. Unfortunately for them, an unknown third party knows about their indiscretion and has other plans. This type of drama is not generally in my wheelhouse, but in this case it is very well done. The acting is really good, especially the two wronged parties, Alison Brie as Charlie’s wife and Jeremy Allan White as his brother. I especially felt for Brie, who was getting some pretty inconsiderate treatment from Charlie even aside from the infidelity. I went into the final stretch of the film anticipating how this relational strife would play into the horror elements.
In my opinion, The Rental is the equivalent of a good, 13.5-scoring balance beam routine that ends with the gymnast dismounting directly onto their face. I won’t spoil the ending here, but it just felt so random and disconnected from the interpersonal drama that had been so well built to that point. I guess I can see the idea, that violence and misfortune can target anyone, it’s not personal, but I feel like we were being set up for one very specific type of reveal and then given one that felt unimaginative and tacked on in its place. I’m sure there was a good way to deliver either type of film without leaving the audience deflated, but the filmmakers sort of mashed the two together in a way that ultimately made the film a failure for me. That said, I still give it my partial recommendation for a handful of reasons. First, as I mentioned, a good 80% of this movie is really well done and all of the performances are quite believable. Second, its Netflix, you can stop reading this and form your own opinion in less than two hours from now. Finally, it may simply work for you in a way that it didn’t for me. There are plenty of movies I review that I feel fully justified in steering my readers away from, but my convictions are not so strong in this case. If it seems interesting at all, give it a watch and let me know what you thought.
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