The Resident (2011) Review

The Resident (2011)
Director: Antti Jokinen
Screenwriter: Antti Jokinen, Robert Orr
Starring: Hilary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Lee Pace, Christopher Lee.

Antti Jokinen’s The Resident (2011) turned out to be more creepy, than frightening or scary. Scenes in which a highly dosed Hilary Swank would have her fingers licked as she slept and have her unconscious face kissed were just two of the more creepy things about this particular feature. Jeffrey Dean Morgan did a half decent job of pulling it off, too. However, there seemed to be little-to-no build or motive behind the stalker-like attitude that Morgan’s character Max had developed in reference to Swank’s character Juliet.

We were given glimpses of a back story that must have been left on the cutting room floor because it was incredibly vague and uninteresting at best. There was no reason as to why Morgan’s character was committing such heinous acts other than he was incredibly unhinged and perverted. Was that the point? All of the signs pointed towards a story between Morgan’s character and the character of the legendary Christopher Lee, but nothing ever materialised. Instead, Lee’s character only served to be a stepping stone for Morgan’s power in the role of chief antagonist and never really allowed room for further exploration. All in all, the narrative was very bare.

The direction wasn’t anything that made any form of impression either. In fact, there were some shots which seemed so incredibly random that it’s impossible to offer an argument as to their meaning. Furthermore, the use of a blur on a quick zoom realisation shot seemed to defeat the whole purpose of the moment, so clearly the cinematographer has someone to answer to as well.

The Resident is poor. It’s not every day you see three well-established actors in the same below par film. Avoid this one at all costs.

Verdict: 6/24

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