Scary, suspenseful and even surprising

To the list of established movie genres, we must now add another: the Airbnb horror film. Wait! A sub-genre: The pandemic-era Airbnb horror film. Halfway through 2020, we’re all surely craving some sort of remote getaway (maybe Pluto?) But this summer, first with “You Should Have Left” and now “The Rental”, the movies seem to be sending those of us seeking such isolation, at least via Airbnb, a stark message: Be careful what you wish for.

More bluntly: Stay home! That gorgeous rental with fl oor-to-ceiling windows? More like fl oorto- ceiling murder and mayhem. And who knew “drop-dead views” was a literal term? “The Rental”, the feature directing debut by Dave Franco, starts out in a strikingly similar vein to “You Should Have Left”: Affl uent Californians look online, experience real-estate porn, book relaxing getaway. But where the earlier film sputtered just when we expected a good payoff for all that tension, “The Rental” knows how to stick its landing.

If such horror films can be split into three parts – dreamy setup, scary stuff happens, all-hell-breaks loose ending – what makes “The Rental” a more satisfying experience is that the ending actually is scary and suspenseful, even surprising. Not that Franco’s story, written with Joe Swanberg, breaks any ground; the surprise is mild, rather than revelatory (“Get Out”, it is not.) But it earns our attention because, unlike many horror films, Franco has taken the time to make his characters somewhat interesting, with nice casting (especially the reliably excellent Dan Stevens), a subplot about infidelity, and another about racial profiling. We begin with an attractive millennial couple, Charlie (Stevens) and Mina (Sheila Vand), gazing at the online profile of a cliffside house somewhere up the coast from the Bay Area (the film was shot in foggy southern Oregon). It’s costly, but they decide to go for it. Then Mina’s boyfriend, Josh, enters the room. Turns out Charlie and Mina are business partners, not lovers. Josh (Jeremy Allen White) is Charlie’s much-less-successful brother.

Charlie’s married to Michelle (Alison Brie), the most upbeat and energetic of the bunch. And so the four set off. In the car, Mina stews over the fact that her Middle Eastern last name may have been the reason her initial request to rent the house was denied, while Charlie’s, an hour later, was accepted. Her suspicions are hardly assuaged when, arriving at the property, the host, a guy named Taylor who lives up the street, appears to be a prejudiced jerk. In any case, the two couples are determined to have a great time: nice hikes, good meals, and a bit of recreational drugs, to get in the mood.

By Jocelyn Noveck