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Released by: Image Entertainment
Released on: 3/29/2011
Director: Antti J. Jokinen
Cast: Hillary Swank, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Christopher Lee
Year: 2010
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The Movie:
One of a few recent offerings from the resurrected Hammer, Antti J. Jokinen's 2010 movie The Resident stars Oscar winner Hillary Swank as an emergency room doctor named Juliet who has just broken up with her philandering long time boyfriend and is looking for her own apartment. She finds it at a great price along the Brooklyn waterfront with a gorgeous view of the Manhattan Bridge - the catch? The F train runs underneath is and it costs a small fortune to heat. Juliet jumps at the chance, however, as apartments this fancy and most of all spacious are hard to come by at such an affordable price (a steal at only $3800 a month - ah, New York City real estate, gotta love it).
She settles in and soon becomes fast friends with the building's owner, a handsome and kind bearded Robert Downey Jr. lookalike named Max (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) who takes care of the building and his aging grandfather (Christopher Lee) who has recently suffered a stroke. Juliet takes an instant liking to Max and he to her and soon enough they're hanging out at art galleries and smooching in the hallway. When Juliet realizes she still has feelings for her ex-boyfriend and makes Max stop mid-fuck, he seems to understand and take it like the sensitive guy she thinks she is. What she doesn't realize, however, is that Max is a creep - he's been peeking in on her Norman Bates style, watching her masturbate in the bathtub and breaking into her pad when she's at work so that he can use her toothbrush and fondle her cloths. Max has got some issues, to say the least, and Juliet will soon find out just how freaky he can get.
Well paced and shot with enough style to keep your eyes happy, The Resident doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the genre but it hits enough familiar notes at the right moments to succeed. Skillful editing (courtesy of Bob Murawksi - best known for his work on Spider-Man but who holds a special place in certain hearts for Gone With The Pope) gives the film a certain rhythm that keeps it interesting even if it does rely too heavily on replays and flashbacks. While not exceptionally exploitative, there's enough moderate sex (Hillary is bolder here than most will expect) and marginally bloody violence to appease horror movie fans expecting such things.
What makes the movie work and deserves the most credit, however, are the performances. The script is a bit predictable and the twists a little obvious so it's to Swank and Morgan's credit that they keep the picture interesting. As creepy as Morgan can get, you still want to like him and that personality understandably wins over Swank's Juliette as well. She plays her part well, with enough passion, confusion, and suspicion that we can completely buy her in the part, which helps make it easier to look past the fact that you'll see where this one is going very early on. Christopher Lee is great in his part, but he's in the movie for about five minutes, if that, and you get the impression that, even if the role suits him, he was only cast here for his affiliation with Hammer's past.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Image's AVC encoded 2.35.1 1080p high definition widescreen transfer is a good one. Detail is strong throughout and while stylistically speaking the movie is quite dark, color reproduction is generally nice and lifelike. Skin tones look nice and accurate and detail and texture are strong throughout - you'll notice this in facial close ups and you'll notice this in the back rooms in the building where fiberglass insulation hangs and paint peels off of the walls. There aren't any problems with edge enhancement to complain about nor is there any heavy edge enhancement or noise reduction to sour things. All in all, the movie looks very good.
Also impressive is the English language DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio mix on the disc. There's a good bit of surround activity throughout the film, from the subtle drip of water in the bathroom to the thundering of the subway to the smashing of a wine glass. It's all handled quite well, coming through with the right amount of punch and plenty of clarity. John Ottman's score also sounds quite nice, coming through with enough bass to push things but never to the point where it overpowers the performers. Optional English closed captioning is provided as are Spanish language subtitles.
As far as extras go, we get a trailer for the feature and a simple menu offering chapter selection. Previews for a few unrelated Image Blu-ray releases play before the main menu loads.
The Final Word:
While The Resident might not offer the gothic chills that the Hammer brand is associated with, the film is nevertheless a competent thriller with enough style and sex appeal to work on a visual level and some genuinely unsettling moments to help keep the tension thick. Image's Blu-ray release looks and sounds great but falls seriously short in the extras department - but the movie is strong enough that it's worth a look regardless.
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