The Roommate (2011) Movie Review
Written By: FR
Edited By: Grave Reviews Staff
Film Information
Director: Christian E. Christiansen
Writer: Sonny Mallhi
Producers: Sonny Mallhi, Beau Marks, et.al.
Date Released: February 4, 2011
Cast:
Leighton Meester as Rebecca
Minka Kelly as Sara Matthews
Cam Gigandet as Stephen
Aly Michalka as Tracy
Danneel Ackles as Irene (as Danneel Harris)
Rating = 1.5/5 Graves
***May contain some spoilers***
Synopsis
The Roommate (2011) introduces us to Sara (Minka Kelly), an Iowa girl coming to the big city, and her new roomie Rebecca (Leighton Meester), a rich girl from Beverly Hills. The two seem to initially get along, but rather quickly Rebecca seems to be a bit weak in the whole boundary department. Rebecca seems to be on top of Sara at every step of the way. She takes care of her problems with her professor, and is jealous of everyone close to her.
Gore Factor
The movie tried to create an intense environment. Unfortunately, it did not pick up as such. The character of the roommate is insane and has scary ways of dealing with things. You would normally see her stalking the other roommate or being in the background standing watching and waiting. There is a scene where a kitten is implied to be killed can be unsettling.
The Grave Review
The Roommate (2011) was marketed as a thriller, but it is not even remotely scary. It was intended to be more of a psychological thriller than an outright horror movie. And no, those generic “sharp musical cues” or “jump out of the shadows” moments do not count, because even those are hopelessly ineffective. The film was never going to be a good movie in a traditional sense, but it could have been decent or watchable if more attention was paid to suspense or the dynamics of the plot. Instead, it for the most part plays out like a boring, middle-of-the-road teen television show like One Tree Hill or 90210 while a generic-looking chick wanders around giving a generic glare that’s more funny than menacing. And it takes itself far too seriously.
The film sits in between straight-faced horror and enjoyable thriller. It’s all just really flat and tedious on top of being incredibly, agonizingly boring.
For the most part, the actors’ performance are sub par to say the least. Each character is physically fit with perfect make-up, and their clothes are straight off of Rodeo Drive, meaning the casting directors just focused on looks rather than acting talent.
Overall, The Roommate (2011) is unbearable and uncreative, and it was merely designed to appeal to unstable teen girls unable to think of anything better to spend their pocket money on. The Roommate is a thriller that’s all about the superficial, the people are attractive, the film is glossy and the score is generic, all of which give the picture the appearance of competency but it is all rendered naught thanks to a bad script and absolutely no feeling or passion.
Due to foregoing reasons, Grave Reviews gives The Roommate (2011) one and one-half graves out of five graves.
Do you agree with our review? Comment below.
You may also like our review of the film, The Babysitter.
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