PREMISE
THE FRONT ROOM tells the story of a newly pregnant couple forced to take in an ailing, estranged stepmother.
THE GOOD STUFF
KATHRYN HUNTER- To say that this is Hunter’s true breakout performance at 67 sounds pretty nuts, but that’s exactly what this is. Given the fact that this is such a small film in reference to a lot of horror stuff that’s recently come out and that an R&B singer who really isn’t known for her acting is playing her opposite in this film… the word towering might be the best way to describe this performance.
Hunter is a complete wild card in every single solitary scene. She’s funny as hell and creepy as a motherf*****. It says on her Wikipedia page that the range of characters she can play is as wide as possible. Boy, I hope we get to see that put to the test over the next couple of years.
BRANDY- If I’m not mistaken, this is Brandy Norwood’s first headlining role in a theatrical release ever. She’s mostly done a lot of television stuff, so it’s not like she hasn’t been doing anything as far as the acting department is concerned, but I can’t help but get this feeling that this is by far the most significant kind of a role that she’s had in the past decade-plus or so.
Though Hunter’s performance is flashy and domineering, the movie itself doesn’t work if Brandy isn’t playing the complete opposite of that. Impressively, she’s never exactly dwarfed by Hunter’s performance and, in a lot of cases, matches her in intensity a lot of the time, and in a very different way. The performance doesn’t start too well, and much of the stuff she’s trying to do feels very made for TV. But when it picks up, boy, does it ever. She’s a big reason why this movie works.
THE BAD STUFF
ANDREW BURNAP- Simply put. Burnap is a Tony Award-winning actor with little to do in this movie. Though it is understood what role the character is supposed to play and why he’s off-screen most of the time, the story begins with him and his plight. I don’t know if a lot of his stuff hit the cutting room floor or anything like that, but I have a feeling that there was a lot more of him in this film that couldn’t see the light of day.
Exposition- I wouldn’t go as far as to call this on-the-nose dialogue or anything like that. I understand the scale of this movie, and maybe there’s not enough budget to have a lot of things being shown on screen when it comes to the backstories of these characters. However, it is a real problem when the exposition starts happening when it comes to important things that are happening in the moment.
Example: The entire climax of this movie does not take place off-screen, but a part of it does, and depending on how important you feel that part of the climax is, it does make things feel a little emptier.
THE UGLY STUFF
BODILY FLUIDS- One thing that completely caught me off guard while watching this film was the amount of bodily fluids that were just being shown on camera all willy-nilly. The incontinence of an elderly character is an important plot point in this film, and boy, they didn’t hold back. I strongly suggest not eating whilst watching this film. If you’re drinking something like a Mountain Dew or Ginger Ale, you might not want to look at the liquid that you’re consuming while watching this and while we’re at it. If you have any chocolate candy bars or chocolate milk of any kind, you might want to consume them before the movie really starts going.
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As I said in my review of the movie CUCKOO from a month ago, good horror movies don’t always have to scare you. They don’t always have to disturb you, either. Sometimes a good horror movie creates a sense of creepiness and general uneasiness and does not let go of it. And when you’re dealing with low-budget horror films, you have to rely on the sense of creepiness to get your point across.
This movie starts off very slow with that creepiness but finds its footing and is very consistent. I don’t know if this film has a chance to make any money, but it deserves more success than it will probably have, sadly.
THE FRONT ROOM is in theaters now
