I’m going to be honest; I only rented this movie on demand because it’s Brandy Norwood’s triumphant return to the horror genre after 26 years. Of course, she previously co-starred in the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. Had it not been for this fact, I probably would have skipped this one since it wasn’t well received at the box office after it released on September 6th and its distributor, A24, sells big hits or even bigger misses. Still, I managed to power through it… but I have to say I wasn’t a fan, like at all. Based on the short story by Susan Hill, The Front Room follows a young couple expecting their first child. When the husband’s father dies unexpectedly, his stepmother is left with nowhere to go. Despite initial reservations to the idea, she sets up a stronghold in the couple’s house – and turns it upside-down in the worst ways possible. From Two & Two Pictures, 2AM and A24, The Front Room is now available on demand… but maybe you’re better off renting Hereditary again instead.
The Front Room is written and directed by Max & Sam Eggers, who share credits between The Witch and The Lighthouse. It was produced by Babak Anvari, David Hinojosa, Julia Oh and Lucan Toh. It features cinematography by Ava Berkofsky and editing by Eric Kissack & Benjamin Rodriguez. Grammy Award winning singer Brandy Norwood (‘Have You Ever,’ ‘That Boy is Mine’) stars alongside Andrew Burnap, Kathryn Hunter, Mary Testa and Neal Huff. As for as production value and overall cast performances, I have no gripes with this movie whatsoever. It delivers everything that was promised as a high-quality endeavor. Now, I don’t think I truly understood this movie – or the point, really – but I guess I’d have to file it as Hitchcockian in nature. Sure, it’s uncomfortable and weird, but the horror is slow building and peaks just before the end… if it ever got there in the first place, which I believe it gave up well before then.
The idea of marketing The Front Room as a horror film makes absolutely zero sense to me. There’s no horror to be found – like, at all – besides two scenes with semi-pornographic imagery. Unless you find organized religion and religious zealots to be terrifying, in which I feel you there! The film briefly touches on cult-like elements, but again, this is completely glassed over and could have added more depth as horror if they incorporated more of that into the story. And the villain, holy fuck the villain, the stepmother is so beyond annoying that she’s probably the single biggest detriment to this movie’s enjoyment factor. Holy shit, every scene she’s in is absolutely ruined by the writing and the over-the-top performance. Plus, how can you have a main villain who can’t even walk up the frickin’ stairs… Just not what I was expecting and subtracts so much from the entire narrative.
I followed the themes woven between the lines of the story. At first, it made The Front Room marginally relatable before it lost me completely. I too have terrible in-laws, so I know what it’s like to have that strain on the marriage while trying to do right by your spouse. I don’t like organized religion, obviously. And I know that many women don’t feel that “pregnancy glow” before giving birth and it worries them that they may not be mother material. Unfortunately, all these layers were drowned out by music that sounds like the soundtrack to Salad Fingers and it gives this movie a scifi vibe for literally no reason at all. Jesus, I’ve said “at all” a lot during this review, but my god – I’m trying to save you guys some money here. I’d avoid The Front Room at all costs. The cast and crew did a great job, but the script was horrendous, the story never “went there” and the stepmother is one of the worst film characters I’ve ever witnessed.
Final Score: 4 out of 10.
