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Indie horror films are, thankfully, on the rise and when they are of this quality, well, they can be damn remarkable with both their chills and spills. Room for Rent is a thriller from Arizona-based filmmaker Tommy Stovall that works on many levels, putting sort of Air B&B spin on Fatal Attraction and, thanks to a dynamic performance from Insidious’ Lin Shaye, the film gleefully buries its butcher knife in us all.
And we are made happy by such violent actions.
Shaye is a lonely old woman. We see her stumbling through town, struggling to make ends meet after the tragic passing of her husband. We learn quickly that her world is turned upside down with his passing. She tries to make friends but it comes across as awkward. And she gets ridiculed by neighborhood bullies for her actions. They call her the crazy old lady . . .
. . . but they don’t know the half of it. Neither do we. That is until Joyce (Shaye), in order to make some money, rents out her room as an air B&B for traveling men and women. Suddenly, with all this attention, she takes all our warm wishes that we have toward her plight and tosses them out the window as her desperation to be accepted and feel belonged turns to obsession as Bob (Oliver Rayon), her new tenet and motorcycle enthusiast, comes to stay. {googleads}
Suddenly, Joyce is all goo-goo eyes for him and wants to hop on the back of his bike for a date night out on the town. She calls him from the bathtub, asking him to hand her a towel because "silly me… I can't quite reach my towel." Bob keeps his cool until Sarah (Valeska Miller) returns and stays with Joyce as a newly single person. Sparks fly between Bob and Sarah, even though Joyce is not convinced, due to his extended visit, that they are lovers.
Obviously, something is going to break and when it does – BOOM – Shaye is there with a performance that is both funny and completely on point. She damn terrifies me as I type this, recalling some of the strange shit she sniffs and wears and does while trying to seek their approval. 
She calls them her new friends. And we call her the same, too.
But there is something deadly lurking behind her eyes; it is an instability that suggests deadly things are about to transpire. Well-shot and completely enthralling, Room for Rent makes for a deliciously deadly night at the movies. It is both fierce and funny, giving Shaye a wonderful vehicle to display her amazing qualities as a character actor.
Co-starring Linda Cushma, Casey Nicholas-Price, and Ryan Ochoa, Room for Rent opens May 3 in select theaters and releases May 7 on digital through Uncork'd Entertainment.
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[tab title="Details"]
MPAA Rating: Unrated.
Runtime: 81 mins
Director: Tommy Stovall
Writer: Stuart Flack
Cast: Lin Shaye, Oliver Rayon, Valeska Miller
Genre: Thriller
Tagline: She'd kill to find a decent man.
Memorable Movie Quote: "Mr.s Smith, do you have any family close by?"
Theatrical Distributor: Uncork'd Entertainment
Official Site:
Release Date: May 7, 2019
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: No details available.
Synopsis: Lin Shaye stars as a lonely widow who rents out a room in her house and becomes dangerously obsessed with one of her guests.
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Blu-ray Details:
Home Video Distributor:
Available on Blu-ray -
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