THE ROOM (2019) Reviews and overview

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The Room is a 2019 horror film about a couple that buys an isolated house with a strange room that grants wishes.

Directed by Christian Volckman (Renaissance) from a screenplay co-written with Eric Forestier, the movie stars Olga Kurylenko (Mara; Vampire Academy) Kevin Janssens (Revenge; Stormforce), Marianne Bourg, Francis Chapman and John Flanders.

Plot:

While moving into their new home, a couple discovers a strange secret room, whose interior holds the power to make everything they want a reality.

One day, they to ask the room to grant them the child they haven’t been able to have. However, their initial happiness from this blessing will have unforeseen consequences. As they say: careful what you wish for.

Release:

The world premiere of The Room was at the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival on 15th April 2019.

Having been one of the most popular films to be streamed on Shudder, The Room will be released in the USA by RLJE Films on VOD, Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray on July 21st 2020. Order via Amazon.com

[May contain spoilers] Reviews:

“The way in which the story is developed, the interactions between the characters and their development affect the concept’s potential and this is worsened by the many holes in its plot and its predictable turns. The Room has as many virtues as it has defects and it seems like those movies where many will love it or hate it and only a few, like me, will remain neutral by recognizing its potential but being frustrated by how it is hindered.” 10th Circle

“Despite the excellent casting, two people can only be asked to do so much and the lack of change of scenery does produce a bit of cabin fever for the viewer. But overall there is not much to complain about. The Room is a well thought out psychological thriller with superb acting and enough potent scary what-ifs to keep the discussion alive long after the streaming of the film is dead.” 25 Years Later

” …the moral tale of a shallow, greedy and selfish couple and the results of their ugly actions, but the lesson which “The Room” tries to teach us gets lost in all the chaos, as it goes so out of control at some point that not even the leads’ efforts, forced tension, or the cool, if limited setting, can’t save the film’s bold ambitions.” CineMarvellous!

“The plot thickens and even becomes delightfully convoluted and confusing. Normally I would hate this, but in ‘The Room’ it works. The pacing becomes frantic, rules are broken and nothing is conventional, and Olga proves she deserves to be in these high quality acting films not just action flicks like Bond, Centurion, and The Courier.” Dan’s Movie Report

” …writer/director Christian Volckman and co-writer Eric Forestier deliver fresh surprises on Mephistophelean bargains and demonic house plot beats […] Volckman has fun with temporal jumps as the couple begin to lose control of their situation and the climax uses the potential of the film’s premise to imaginative effect.” Electric Shadows

“Wisely keeping the focus on the house, the room itself, and the two parents dealing with their new child, The Room works as well as it does because it’s happy to stay focused on a central predicament that it continues to make even worse than you expect. I’ll be honest, it took me an extra few seconds to figure out the implication of that final shot, one that helps to raise an entertaining genre distraction into something that bit more memorable.” For It Is Man’s Number

“While worth watching, it’s lack of true originality (despite its opening guarantee) and mediocre acting performances ultimately reduced both the quality of its screenplay and the truly well-timed moments of suspense, mystery, and intrigue.” Heaven of Horror

“You might be able to see some of the effed up twists coming, you might not, but they’re so well-executed that even the ones you’re able to predict will punch you on the gut. The synopsis only runs until the first 20 minutes or so. The less you know going into it, the better […] A shot of snow has rarely looked so beautiful and ominous at the same time.” Hub Pages

“The climax of the film gets maybe excessively complicated with doppelgangers of Kevin Janssens, an entire copy of the house inside the forest and everything turning into an M.C. Escher-esque realm but the journey is an uncommonly good one.” Moria

“Performances are great in The Room especially for a single location film with only a few characters. With blends of Coherence, Elizabeth Harvest, and The Cube, this is a movie that will keep you guessing. A surprising hidden gem to watch as soon as possible.” Mother of Movies

The Room isn’t terrible, and it isn’t unwatchable. On the contrary, horror fans will find it an entirely competent, occasionally ingenious genre exercise with an unusual surfeit of ideas. And it’s precisely that surfeit of ideas which makes the execution disappointing.” Polygon

“Following certain expected paths and detouring around others — without resorting to exploitative temptations — The Room becomes ever more intriguing and compelling as it plays to a satisfying conclusion.” Screen Anarchy

“Kurylenko and Janssens are all in, and Volckman (helming his first live-action feature) sets an acceptably creepy mood on the way to a mind-bending, off the rails finale, but The Room can never get below the surface of themes that have been tossed around since the earliest Monkey’s Paw adaptations.” UK Film Review

Cast and characters:

  • Olga Kurylenko … Kate
  • Kevin Janssens … Matt
  • Marianne Bourg … Suzanne
  • Francis Chapman … Shane
  • John Flanders … John Doe
  • Carole Weyers … Madeline Shaeffer
  • Éric Gigout … Mental Patient in Riverview Hospital
  • Michaël Kahya … Mr Schaeffer
  • Joshua Wilson … Shane – Aged Eight

Production companies:

  • Bidibul Productions
  • Les Films du Poisson
  • Versus Production

Technical details:

100 minutes

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