A sturdy cast and moody camerawork propel this taut, slow-simmering thriller out of the exploitation gutter; the gonzo psycho-killer climax drags it back in. Generic, yes, but gleeful with it.
A high-class thriller.
Though it does some interesting work in the shadows, it is choppy and clumsily scripted, and really rather listless.
Before the nailgun comes out, the inventive, through-the-keyhole cinematography of Guillermo (Pan’s Labyrinth) Navarro keeps you amused, but actual scares (let alone surprises) are in short supply.
The Resident does get under the skin, with a drip drip of paranoia.
It comes from Hammer, and features Christopher Lee on the cast list, but this psychological thriller honours neither the studio's Gothic tradition nor the pointy-toothed legend himself.
Apart from being totally predictable with some obvious red herrings, The Resident just isn't scary and some background on the stalker's motives would have helped.
Proceeds in exactly the same lame tame stalk'n'slash direction you expect, with no inventive kills or outlandish gore to compensate for the absence of tension.
It's unconvincing, daft and gratuitous but not exactly dull.
Cliched woman-in-peril thriller.
It's a conventional thriller, short on originality and red herrings.
It’s not a complete disaster, the home invasion theme is still unnerving in itself, Swank and Jeffrey are both solid and the final act while preposterous is stupidly entertaining.
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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