1BR

Starring: Nicole Brydon Bloom, Giles Matthey, Taylor Nichols, Naomi Grossman, Celeste Sully

Director: David Marmor

Sarah (Nicole Brydon Bloom) has just moved to LA to escape her father and start a new life making costumes. Luckily, she has found an opening for an apartment and applies with the overly friendly building manager Jerry (Taylor Nichols). She couldn't be happier when she gets the apartment, not just because she has a place to live but because her next door neighbor is the attractive and nice Brian (Giles Matthey). Her ideal situation quickly deteriorates as sleep deprivation sets in as she is being kept awake at night by loud rattling pipes that no one else can hear. She begins to be creeped out by the other residents staring at her constantly and finds threatening letters in her apartment. She soon learns the terrible truth about the complex, which is filled with members of a cult commune intent on converting her to their ranks.

While it may seem like I have ruined the big twist of the movie, this reveal actually happens about 20 minutes into the film. What follows is the psychological and physical torture Jerry and the others put her through until she joins them. Cults automatically freak me out and get under my skin, so to see the creepy nuts and bolts of how the commune forces people into joining was very effective to me.

Writer/director Marmor keeps the pacing tight and the creep factor high. You never know who to trust and honestly never actually know what is going on with Sarah. Sometimes she seems to be drinking the kool-aid and looking for a way to escape within the same scene Credit goes to actress Bloom who has to express a lot through her eyes. Taylor Nichols is also great as the commune leader Jerry, effectively balancing compassion and cruelty in his conversion techniques. I would even go as far as saying the apartment complex itself is a character, which is hiding something terrible under its unassuming facade. Most of the film is set here, no doubt to keep it at a low budget. It works though. Living in LA myself, I have been to many apartments that looked like that.

While I enjoyed the minimalist take on the material, it felt like there was more brewing beneath the surface. The last ten minutes transform the movie into something completely different and ends on somewhat of a cliffhanger. It felt a lot like The Invitation in this way and despite enjoying this ending, I kind of wished it had gone a different direction.

I hadn't heard of this film until a few days ago when I saw a friend of mine post an interview with the director. I'm glad I checked it out as this is a solid little thriller.

Grade: B

1BR is available on VOD