As I’ve stated in the past, films that you know nothing about can be the most exciting ones to watch. No trailers have generated expectations for you and no critics have influenced how you may feel about it. On the contrary, however, you may wind up feeling underwhelmed when the film’s credits roll and you’ve received nothing to write home about. Sadly, that is the case with David Farr’s psychological thriller, The Ones Below.
Expecting husband and wife, Justin (Stephen Campbell Moore, The Children) and Kate (Clemence Poesy, the Harry Potter franchise) , are excited to meet their lovely new neighbors, who are also expecting a bundle of joy of their own. After an extremely unfortunate incident occurs, causing Theresa (Laura Birn, A Walk Among the Tombstones) to lose the baby, tensions quickly rise and the two couples are now at odds with one another. Under stress and exhausted, Kate’s suspicions of wrongdoing by the couple steadily increases, making living in the same building impossible.
The Ones Below has a lot of positive things going for it. The cast consists of talented performers, Stephen Campbell Moore, Clemence Poesy, Laura Birn, and The Walking Dead‘s David Morrissey, the script is intelligent and suspenseful, and the overall quality of the film is superior to most independent genre films. Unfortunately, these things do not make it a great film, in the end.
While I am not a tremendous fan of ‘slow-burn’ films, I can appreciate them for what they are. The build-up of tension, suspense, and anticipation are necessary to create a worthy film experience, but when the end of the film comes and there is no payoff, all of that building is for naught. The quote from the film, “Nothing will happen,” serves both as a title for this review and as a descriptive notion of how I felt while the events unfolded before me. When something finally “did happen,” it was too little, too late and The Ones Below delivered nothing but an insipid, predictable conclusion.
I had high hopes for this one, but my waning excitement was met with nothing more than an average climax. I like what writer/director, David Farr, created and believe there is definitely an audience for this film out there. I am just not part of it.
If you are a diehard fan of psychological thrillers, be sure to check out The Ones Below. It is available now on Digital HD, DVD, and Blu-ray from Magnolia Home Entertainment and Magnet Films.
I give this one 2 jars of milk out of 5.
