I have seen actor Dave Franco’s directing debut, “The Rental,” a horror movie opening theatrically, in select drive-ins, and on-demand on July 24. The cast is uniformly indie; Alison Brie, Dan Stevens, Jeremy Allen White, and Sheila Vand, more intriguingly, and what gives the movies its kick, is that the it was not only written by Franco, but also Mumblecore legend Joe Swanberg.
In “The Rental,” two couples go on an oceanside retreat thinking it’ll solve their relationship problems, but start to suspect that the owner of their rental home might be spying on them. Taking place in a single weekend, this film is all about buried secrets and relationships in damn-near crisis mode.
IFC Films, and ArcLight Cinemas will open the film in a special engagement at the Vineland Drive-in movie theater on June 18. The screening will feature a live Q&A with director Franco, along with the film’s cast. This is a new and creative way to set up a film screening in the COVID-19 era. I like it.
Part of what carries this movie forward is Brie, star of Netflix’s “GLOW,” she was last seen giving her best movie performance in the Sundance psychological thriller “Horse Girl.”
“The Rental” is set for VOD on July 24.
Having an insurance director is not uncommon in Hollywood. Aging filmmakers, in case a health issue arises, sometimes need to have one. It seems like that’s what might have occurred on “What Happens at Night.”