The Front Room

Imagine a friend asking you to explain this film..

"So, an old woman moves in with her in laws. She annoys them by blowing a whistle and speaking in tongues whilst defacating on herself, a lot. The end"

This wasn't horror/thriller, it was a bad comedy with a gollum looking pensioner annoying her pregnant daughter in law for an hour.

I only gave this time due to seeing a24 being mentioned, some of the greatest horror/thrillers of recent times have came with that stamp of approval. I have no idea how this was categorised as a horror movie & it was as thrilling as vegan food.

Avoid at all costs, dont be catfished by the trailers.

Elderly widow Solange (Kathryn Hunter) offers to share her wealth with her estranged stepson Norman (Andrew Burnap) and his pregnant wife Belinda (Brandy Norwood) so long as the couple agree to take her into their home. However, the old woman begins to make trouble from the moment she moves in, her controlling nature, extreme religious beliefs, bizarre behaviour and chronic incontinence putting pressure on Norman and Belinda's relationship. Does the malicious old lady have a secret agenda - a sinister reason for wanting to drive a wedge between her stepson and his wife?

Well, no, actually, and that's the big problem with The Front Room: after plenty of well-executed build up, the film fails to deliver a satisfying payoff, the ending coming as a total damp squib. The misleading trailer hinted at Solange possessing dark, supernatural powers, her reasons for wanting to live with Norman and Belinda being far from Christian; however, rather than revealing the woman to be a member of an evil cult out to possess the body of Belinda or steal the life-force of the couple's child, Solange turns out to be just an ordinary obnoxious old bag, albeit one who regularly craps the bed. Writer/directors Sam and Max Eggers attempt a twist at the end of the film, but it's extremely weak, neither clever nor surprising.

To be fair, I had a pretty good time with most of the film, largely thanks to Hunter as Solange, who is absolutely hilarious, clearly having a blast playing a cantankerous, manipulative old crone in an adult diaper. It's just a real shame that the Eggers couldn't wrap things up in a more satisfying manner.

The trailer for this film is misleading. The movie is very unserious, but it knows it and it leans into it. The Front Room has a very simple plot, simple dialogue, and no gore. But what it does have in abundance is a sense of humor. Thanks to a great performance by Kathryn Hunter as the elderly mother, this movie is just downright entertaining at the end of the day. You realize about 10 minutes in that it's not going to reinvent the wheel; the writing is not going to be exceptionally clever. But in spite of all that the audience in my theater couldn't stop laughing throughout. So if you're in the mood for some dark humor and camp, it's definitely worth a look. 6.5/10.

There has to be a better way to introduce a campy thriller without pretending to be serious. I think from the beginning if I knew it was slapstick horror, I may have been able to digest it as it was. After too many scenes featuring feces, urine, and farting one has to wonder why a treasure such a Brandy thought this is the role to sink her teeth into. If it were a serious horror, I would understand. But for what this is, it's for some one of a C-Level of celebrity. The actress that played the stepmother was very entertaining considering the brand of story telling. The premise of the old trope of the evil stepmother seemed very promising and relatable and unfortunately a ball was dropped.

Kathryn Hunter is one of the best actors on the planet earth. Though this movie is ultimately unworthy of her talent, it's all in good fun. I wish I could see her on stage. What a legend!

But yeah, about this movie. It made me laugh a few times, mostly at its sheer audacity. There's a lot of flatulent and bodily excrement involved. It's quite literally a shitty movie. And there's gross breast feeding, obviously. How could there not be?

Oh, and Brandy is in it.

As filmmakers, the Egger Brothers have a long way to go before they catch up with their older brother, Robert. They may have something to offer down the road, but cinema this is not.

Did I mention what an amazing actor Kathryn Hunter is?