The Rental (2020)

Two couples rent a vacation home for what should be a celebratory weekend get-away.

Director:

Dave Franco

Writers:

Dave Franco (screenplay by), Joe Swanberg (screenplay by)

Stars:

Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dan Stevens	...	Charlie
Alison Brie	...	Michelle
Sheila Vand	...	Mina
Jeremy Allen White	...	Josh
Toby Huss	...	Taylor
Connie Wellman	...	Apartment Owner
Chunk	...	Reggie
Anthony Molinari	...	Man
Amity Bacon	...	Background
Chase Barker	...	Background
Conor Barker	...	Background
Kylie Barker	...	Background
Bryant Brown	...	Background
Andrew Buchanan	...	Background
Briana Hutchens	...	Background

Storyline

Two couples on an oceanside getaway grow suspicious that the host of their seemingly perfect rental house may be spying on them. Before long, what should have been a celebratory weekend trip turns into something far more sinister, as well-kept secrets are exposed and the four old friends come to see each other in a whole new light.

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Plot Keywords:

weekend retreat | extramarital affair | hidden camera | masked figure | vacation | 

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Taglines:

Secluded getaway. Killer views.

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Genres:

Horror | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Alison Brie and Toby Huss also starred together in Horse Girl (2020).

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Connections

Featured in Chris Stuckmann Movie Reviews: The Rental (2020)

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Soundtracks

Osmosis
Written by James Everingham (as James Timothy Everingham), Bruce Fingers, Billie Ray Fingers
Courtesy of Extreme Music

User Reviews

Dave Franco tries too many new things for the first time.

The Rental is a new horror thriller directed, written and produced by Dave Franco. This is the first film he has directed and he is more known as an actor in the film world.

In the film, brothers Charlie (Dan Stevens) and Josh (Jeremy Allen White) decide to go on a weekend trip with their friends. They have found a perfect house online by the sea and are trying to make it a pleasant weekend. They only suspect that their landlord is somewhat racist towards Josh his Muslim girlfriend Mina (Sheila Vand). Despite this mistrust, the four try to make it a fun weekend, but during this time together they get to know each other better than they expected. This is how their mutual relationships are tested. When Charlie discovers they've been secretly filmed all weekend, he must choose to find the hidden footage or confess what he secretly did over the weekend.

Dave Franco has portrayed this film as his first directed film, but he has also taken on a bit too much hay by partly writing and producing this film. By taking on all these different tasks, he still struggles to convey the film clearly. At one point, the movie almost comes across as a long episode of Temptation Island and turns more into a teen drama than a horror thriller. This aspect comes to the fore without further explanation. Due to these unclear and sudden changes of genre, the film can come across as tedious.

The acting comes across as nice, but due to the unclear script, the cast doesn't really have many chances to make something special out of their roles. The characters initially come across as adults with work, but later the characters behave more like teenagers.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 July 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Rental

Filming Locations:

Bandon, Oregon, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$403,852, 26 July 2020

Gross USA:

$1,628,230

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,827,295

Company Credits

Production Co:

Black Bear Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1