★ 3 / 10
As dreadful and as dumb as could be
John Chard
As dreadful and as dumb as could be. I'm not normally one for calling a movie dumb, but where this picture is concerned it's a word that practically leaps out…
As dreadful and as dumb as could be.
I'm not normally one for calling a movie dumb, but where this picture is concerned it's a word that practically leaps out at you in every frame of this poorly constructed piece.
A young couple awaiting their first child rent a house from Gerald (Neville Archambault), a grotty foul smelling man who has secretly installed cameras so as to spy on his new tenants...
OK! Ignoring that upon first meeting Gerald a sane couple would run a mile - because with that there's obviously no film - but what we are asked to digest from that point on beggar's belief. How are we meant to react to a couple (and a film maker) who find a locked secret stairway only for them to not give it a second thought for the rest of the film?! It's actually insulting. The dumb set-ups and that of the character's behaviour continues unbound right up to the ridiculously staged finale. As for the acting on show...
It's a big chance missed for something genuinely unnerving, maybe even for a bit of cerebral social commentary. Avoid this if you are looking for either of those things. 3/10 for a toothbrush scene that will either make you squirm or laugh in equal measure.
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★ 6 / 10
Not the best, but certainly not the worst
pault-40524
Do you know what? I actually enjoyed this film. It's taken a brutal beating on here, and I get why. I never read reviews of films before I watch them, I think…
Do you know what? I actually enjoyed this film. It's taken a brutal beating on here, and I get why. I never read reviews of films before I watch them, I think knowing roughly what you're about to see, takes something away from the experience. So I'm glad I didn't read the reviews for 13 Cameras. Chances are, I would have not bothered.
As it happens, I watched it with an open mind without prior knowledge (I'd actually never heard of it) and quite enjoyed it.
To do this, I think you have to imagine this situation is happening to you. Imagine that you might be being watched 24/7 by a vile, repulsive, depraved old pervert who knows your every move and let's himself into your home while you're out to adjust the cameras for a better view of you in the shower, creates a soundproof cell in the basement you don't know about, sniffs your underwear and sucks your toothbrush for good measure.
The landlord is the star of the show and will make your skin crawl. The other characters - the sly cheating husband, the charming unassuming pregnant wife and the obsessive mistress - are all quite flat in persona and like all good horror film victims, make terrible decisions when in danger.
We have to guess the purpose of the basement cell, but bunny boiler mistress finds herself locked in there after turning up to confront lover boy who, aware of bunny boilers intentions, has taken wifey out for the evening.
Landlord tends to his chained victim for a couple of days while his tenants are out, feeding her bacon donuts (his own staple meal) and emptying her toilet (a plastic bucket) down the kitchen sink.
From therein it's murder, suspense and kidnap. Not necessarily in that order.
Landlord wins the showdown and seemingly keeps pregnant wife alive, at least long enough for her to give birth, as the film closes out with dirty landlord and baby driving off into the sunset, presumably as father and son, to fit some more cameras to a property.
All in all I enjoyed this. I've seen much much worse.
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★ 5 / 10
"Creepy people in creepy situation" is disturbing at best.
quincytheodore
In order to immersive audience in stalker / home invasion horror, the movie needs to have a sympathetic protagonist, invitingly bad antagonist and a condition…
In order to immersive audience in stalker / home invasion horror, the movie needs to have a sympathetic protagonist, invitingly bad antagonist and a condition to set up the ordeal. "Slumlord" only presents half of that as none of the characters are appealing. The wife is constantly complaining and babbling, the husband is a pathological liar and the villain doesn't have much personality aside from a few sentences and a lot of grumblings.
Story revolves around the couple and their Quasimodo-like stalker. This antagonist is lacking on backstory or motivation, it's actually amazing that he becomes a handyman with his verbal barrier. The movie portrays him as personification of a freak, and this can get a bit frustrating as it spends hefty amount on his close up, grunting and mumbling. The supposedly protagonist couple is also appalling, bickering for nearly the entire movie.
It's understandable that the movie wants to have problematic couple for more identifiable character, but they come off as whiny and deceptive. The least unsavory character is the supporting role and he's only there for a few scenes. There's also a mix of found footage in the stalker gig, but it doesn't provide much aside from a couple of decent angles and this also plays out one or two times too many.
There's not much horror to be found here, any sense of dread is merely disturbing instances, which is not entirely bad. it knows how to play on this premise. There's a particular eerie ambiance that a person can just enter one's home. However, it might repeat itself too much and the use of blaring sound effect feels forced.
The thriller moves with a dreadful setting, it may not be terrorizing, yet it's eerily repulsive enough for a few moments.
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83%
TOMATOMETER
· 12 reviews
35%
AUDIENCE
· 500 ratings
5.2/10
6.9K
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YES! Thank you, this movie is hilarious if you're not expecting The Silence of the Lambs