Horror Movie Review: Tenants (2024)

If you’ve seen your share of anthology films, you’ll know that finding a great one is rare. Simply because a variety of stories, sometimes connected and sometimes not, means mixed quality in most circumstances. One part of anthology might be fantastic, but the next might be subpar, resulting in mixed feelings about the overall experience. It’s a problem that all anthologies suffer from, regardless of genre. Yet, it’s horror that seems to deliver higher quality efforts than most and there have been some genuinely brilliant horror anthology experiences over the years.

Tenants is not one of those, sadly, but it sure does come close, which is impressive enough. However, take into account that one or two of its individual stories are outstanding, and it’s easy to see why the overall experience leaves strong positive feelings.

Featuring the writings of three people (Sean Mesler, Mary O’Neil, Buz Wallick) and with several others taking up the directing chair for different segments, Tenants begins in mysterious style. Where we see a woman emerge from a cocoon of sorts in an underground parking garage, find some clothes, and enter the apartment block above. This is Joni ( Mary O’Neil) and she is searching for her sister, Emily (Katheryne Isabelle Easton) who lives in this building.

Which should make her easy to find, except something sinister is trying to stop her, and traversing the floors becomes quite a challenge. Especially as she seems to be known by people in the building to, and it’s these people she interacts with that makes up the individual stories of Tenants.

It’s a solid wraparound and a very clever way to get to the stories, especially as we see, come the end, how the main plotline affects everyone in the apartment block.

Sometimes gross, sometimes horrific, sometimes funny, sometimes silly, and sometimes emotional, Tenants’ stories are varied, but the tone shifts can also be quite jarring. Compare Acting Rash with Hoarder, for example. The former is one of the grosser ones as former child actress (Christa Collins) is desperate for something to revitalise her ailing career. So, when a short-notice opportunity to audition for a major director comes her way, she jumps at the chance. There’s just one problem, a rash has broken out on her face, and no matter what she uses, it just seems to get worse.

You can see where this one is heading, but it’s an experience that you can’t help but enjoy watching. Which also applies to the latter, Hoarder, just in a very different way. Telling the story of a elderly man, (Myles Cranford) who is grief-stricken over the loss of his wife and is living in squalor, much to his son’s ((Acquah Dansoh) frustration. The young man wants his father to move forward, and will gladly help, but the older man just can’t face a life without his wife. It’s incredibly sad, and the pair have such great chemistry that it’s easy to believe they are father and son.

These are two very strong segments, but the tone shift between them is wild, and that’s before you include the likes of the violent comedy horror that is Need Anything (Clarke Wolfe and Fayna Sanchez are brilliant in this). Then there’s The Photograph, a moody supernatural horror with very little exciting about it. Whereas Nah is stupidly funny (and very short), and Laundry Day combines heavy emotional drama with skin-crawling horror elements.

Tenants really is all over the place, and just to confirm that, You’re not supposed to be here, tries to add even more emotional weight to things, but without earning it. Which does mean it ends up lacking impact, even if the acting is fabulous. That’s Tenants for you, an anthology horror that hits and misses, like so many others. Happily though, it’s more hits than misses.