Review of The Tenant (1976) by Davey M — 06 Oct 2013
"The Tenant" feels like both the culmination and the disintegration of the claustrophobic brand of horror that makes up so much of Polanski's best work. It's the anxiety-ridden infernos of "Knife in the Water," "Repulsion," and "Rosemary's Baby" carried to their logical (or illogical) conclusion.
An exercise in mostly unanswered questions and the gradual, almost imperceptible accrual of details both mundane and disturbing. Faucets dripping, doors creaking, strange neighbors, rooms enveloped in darkness, and mirrors swing open to reveal.
..nothing. A horrifying, nerve-wracking, and often very funny expression of the deepest kind of paranoia. And the almost complete denial of any kind of release to all this tension is ruthless. Is relentless.
It's what makes the inevitable conclusion feel so thoroughly shocking. "The Tenant" that rare release by a major American studio that feels thoroughly uncompromised--a cry of anguish and a grim, absurd, mortified chuckle, a Kafka story stretched to two hours.
This review of The Tenant (1976) was written by Davey M on 06 Oct 2013.
The Tenant has generally received very positive reviews.
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