‘The Front Room’ is a horror thriller that follows growing family Norman (Andrew Burnap) and pregnant Belinda (Brandy Norwood). The two find themselves in financial strains, when Norman’s father suddenly passes away. Met with a proposition from his stepmother Solange (Kathryn Hunter) to move into their house in exchange for what money she has, Norman reluctantly agrees, with Belinda encouraging re-establishing familial ties.
With a straightforward set-up to the film, ‘The Front Room’ goes out of its way to suggest that Solange will be impossible to live with, going by Norman’s comments to Belinda. However, even though the situation deteriorates over time, the film never quite manages to live up to the promise of it’s horror implications. Resorting to moments that amount to uncomfortable, the film fails to deliver on the fear factor.
Solange is a mother-in-law from hell. Slowly taking over the family home, turning Norman against Belinda and implying she wants to take Belinda’s newborn for herself, the film feels like it should be a slow burn towards a gut-punch resolution where Belinda’s worst fears are realized. Somehow fumbling, the story amounts to inspiring little dread or actual horror, as the darker episodes of the film fall flat and convey no scares.
The undisputed highlight of the film is the performance delivered by Kathryn Hunter. Her Solange embodies a forceful presence that slowly eats away at Belinda and Norman, as she pushes in on their lives under the guise of helplessness and care. Expositional backstory revealing that Norman is already aware of her encroaching tendencies foreshadows the masterclass of Solange’s manipulative ways.
The constant warning by Norman and Belinda’s lenience by way of courtesy is ultimately the couple’s undoing as Solange wears away at them through increasingly outlandish and provocative maneuvers towards her claiming dominion over the household. Perhaps unintentionally comedic at times, Hunter exhibits the wiles of a spiteful child towards Belinda and breaks away from a menacing evil by resorting to a somewhat juvenile delinquent.
The film touches on heavier topics and focuses on race as an issue between Belinda and Solange. The two address Solange’s past, where she grew up and the sentiment her generation carries towards black people. Not going beyond the single aggravated and charged argument, the film skirts the issue and lets the moment pass by without either party reaching any form of resolution. Disappointing in that it bears no fruit, ‘The Front Room’ dances around the subject, with very little to add to the conversation.
Mislabeled as a horror thriller, too little of the film inspires fear or suspense. The film does well in establishing moments of tension yet they fail to amount to much by way of horror. Rather, the film provides for suggestions of horror, elements that could squeeze it into the category, but ultimately delivers a disappointing interpretation of the genre.
The film depicts suggestions of Solange’s implied ‘miracles’ and ‘wonders’ where the sexagenarian enters trances and speaks in tongues, at times exhibiting odd capabilities. Embracing some form of spiritualism besides her Christian held beliefs, Solange exhibits behavior that initially suggests a supernatural force. The instances are few and are seemingly abandoned by the film during its second half, perhaps forgotten about during the writing process.
Overstaying its welcome even with a runtime of just over 90 minutes, ‘The Front Room’ concludes on a dark twist of sorts, which somehow falls flat. Having burdened her family by encroaching on them physically and emotionally, even Hunter’s Solange cannot singlehandedly help the film ascend from a tedious and taxing experience, not unlike the character’s visit at her family home. Even though the film is dark and at times dreary, it is too mild for it to form part of the horror pantheon.
Score: 1/4
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