If you’ve felt compelled home and long for a getaway at a rental home on the Oregon Coast, “The Rental” will make you think staying home isn’t all that bad. The new thriller, which was shot in Bandon, features spectacular landscapes and a story that begins as a tense study of characters and ends with deadly surprises.
Dave Franco, the actor (“The Disaster Artist”) who makes his feature film directorial debut with “The Rental,” says in a phone interview from Los Angeles that the film was inspired “by my own paranoia about the concept of sharing the home”. Franco is surprised by the fact that “the country is as divided as ever,” as he says, but even with a general lack of mutual trust, many people feel good about staying at a total stranger’s house.
That said, Franco adds, “I stayed on an Airbnb while I was filming this movie,” suggesting he was trying to explore “that disconnect where we are all aware of the risks of staying in a stranger’s house,” but of all modes.
The plot of “The Rental”, which will be in select theaters and available to watch on a variety of video-on-demand platforms beginning July 24, looks a bit like what you would get if you crossed “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ? ” with “Friday the 13th”.
To celebrate a successful fundraising effort for a new company, two couples head to the Oregon Coast. They plan to spend the weekend in a house with a beautiful view of the Pacific, a hot tub on the deck, located in a secluded, wooded setting. Charlie (Dan Stevens, from “Downton Abbey”) and Michelle (Alison Brie, from “GLOW”, and who is married to Franco) join Charlie’s business partner, Mina (Sheila Vand, from “A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night “”) And Josh (Jeremy Allen White, from “Shameless”).
However, the mood of the holidays is complicated by the fact that Charlie and Mina are clearly attracted to each other. Josh is Charlie’s brother and is dating Mina. Then there’s the awkward sibling bond between Charlie, who is quite impressed with himself, and Josh, who was kicked out of college and spent time behind bars. Toss Charlie’s patronizing comment to Taylor, the caretaker of the property (Toby Huss), whose racist attitude towards Mina makes him nervous, and he has a recipe for a weekend where things are going to go wrong.
And they do it wrong, as secrets and lies emerge, Mina discovers a hidden camera in the shower faucet and an assassin prepares to spill blood.
While “The Rental” has classic horror movie elements, the interaction between the characters carries the film and draws us in. Franco says he co-wrote the script with filmmaker Joe Swanberg (“Drinking Buddies”) due to Swanberg’s ability to write characters. and relationships.
Dan Stevens and Alison Brie in “The Rental”, a thriller that was filmed in Bandon. (Photo: IFC Films)
“The idea was to create a drama of strained relationships,” says Franco, while there was also, as he says, “a psycho lurking in the shadows.”
It can be chilling as “The Rental”, Franco says he has fond memories of filming in Oregon in April through June 2019.
The film does not specify where it is set, says Franco, “but in our minds, we imagine that the story begins in Portland and then takes place in Bandon. We just wanted everything to feel true to where we were filming. And the house itself is obviously a major character in the movie. “
To find the picturesque house perched on a cliff above the ocean, Franco says: “We did a very long search down the coast and finally found the perfect place in Bandon. The atmosphere of the area is ideal, because there is so much natural beauty, but there is something sinister in the house itself, perched on the edge of an irregular cliff, and in the middle of nowhere. “
The interior scenes of “The Rental” were filmed at Bandon’s house, says Franco. “I remember when I first explored the house, I spent the night in one of the rooms.” While the view was beautiful during the day, Franco recalls, “Things really changed when the sun went down,” and the windows gave him the feeling that someone might be looking at him, as is the case in the movie.
Filming inside the house, Franco says, “added a lot of extra atmosphere and beauty to the entire project. It is so attractive that it really makes you want to spend time there.”
Franco says that during filming, he and Brie “stayed in a small hut on the beach, and we took photos of the sunset every night. They were some of the best we’ve seen.” The couple’s cat was with He, says Franco, was apparently also impressed, staring out the window at the ocean all day.
Franco also praises some Bandon businesses, including Foley’s Irish Pub, Edgewaters, and Mother’s Natural Grocery, “where the owner really treated us like family.”
“We also filmed for a week in Portland,” says Franco. “I love any city that is known for having good food, so I was checking all the notable places when I had some downtime.” Remember to have visited La Luna Café for breakfast, Flying Fish Company for oysters and Afuri for ramen.
“My wife and I look back on our Oregon time with such love,” says Franco, “and we genuinely talk about how good it would be to find a way to live there part of the year.” If the coronavirus blockade continues, and “We can’t work for a while, we could definitely see ourselves taking a road trip to Oregon.”
More of our coverage:
- From dumb to serious, 10 TV shows and movies to catch up on while staying home
- What are the best television shows of the year? This is what television critics say
– Kristi Turnquist
[email protected] 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist
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