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Babies! What are they good for???? If you ask the movies the answer's something like "mental anguish and/or exploding poopy-pants," perhaps not in that order. The order depends on the genre, and in case the title The Ones Below wasn't hint enough for you let me let you in on the secret - we're talking Horror here. Or at least Psychological Thriller of the sort everybody runs circles around each other to proclaim "Polaski-esque."
Adding a baby to the mix only ups the Rosemary's Baby flava, and The Ones Below isn't shying from Satanic baby-snatching comparisons - it embraces 'em whole hog. Our Minnie & Roman are just played by beautiful people now, played by David Morrissey and Laura Birn swathed in pastels that speak of unspeakable Easters. They're the new neighbors - the new Tenant's, if you will. (Don't). And they've got Baby-Making on their mind, too.
Well as far as Pregnancy Horror (a genre unto itself) goes, The Ones Below is above average - it's more The Hand That Rocks the Cradle than anything else, with all the breastfeeding and tip-toeing that title implies, but it wrings some situational stress headaches from New Parent Smell. The first half is probably better than the second, when the implausibilities start piling up like dirty diapers, but as far as first features go (writer-director David Farr had written Hanna and The Night Manager series before this but this is his first directing gig) it's a good enough teething exercise. Maybe he can move on to solid food the next time around.
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2 comments:
we really liked this. what a strange evil couple! and BOTH apartments were gorgeous.
The aparatments threw me; the one above looked like a one-bedroom while the one below seemed HUGE. But maybe I didn't pay enough attention. Liked the movie tho!
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