Stream it:
|
With: Odessa A'zion, Leslie Bibb, Dermot Mulroney, Michael Cooper Jr., Lizze Broadway, Mary Buss, Jackson Dean Vincent, Kenneisha Thompson, Ryan Francis, Todd Jenkins, Hartleigh Buwick, Lois Leftwich, Sabreena Iman, Krista Perry, Jennifer Rader, Avery Baker, Jake Washburn
|
Written by: Kevin Bachar
|
Directed by: Jerren Lauder
|
MPAA Rating: NR
|
Running Time: 100
|
|
Date: 10/07/2022
|
|
|
|
Dizzy Miss Lizzie
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
The silly horror/thriller The Inhabitant doesn't always work, especially toward the end, but it earns points for its complex family relations, and for the genuine way its troubled teen characters speak and behave.
Teen Tara (Odessa A'zion) is having trouble with a bully at school, and is sad that her boyfriend Carl (Michael Cooper Jr.) is moving away for college. And a creepy neighbor is sending her inappropriate texts. But worst of all, she has begun experiencing flashes of herself killing her baby brother Jack with an axe.
It turns out that Tara is a descendent of legendary accused axe murderer Lizzie Borden, and it is said that there's a family curse passed down through the generations. Indeed, her aunt is currently incarcerated for murdering her own child. And Tara herself sometimes sees the ghost of Lizzie. As Tara tries to convince herself that everything's fine, people around her begin actually dying. Is she blacking out and turning into a homicidal maniac, or is something more sinister going on?
The Inhabitant sets off with a ridiculous idea, that Lizzie Borden, who was accused of murdering her family with an axe in 1892, and subsequently acquitted, was actually a homicidal maniac capable of passing down her brand of murderous intent to her offspring, and their offspring. The movie itself seems fascinated with the monster version of Lizzie Borden, without really asking why. (A trip to a Borden-themed bed & breakfast confirms this.) But the Tara character and her younger brother Caleb have a rapport that feels organic.
They're both clever and quick-witted, and able to tip the balance of power in their favor; their little showdowns are most amusing. (Their parents, played by Leslie Bibb and Dermot Mulroney, are frequently at a loss.) Moreover, Tara's interactions with her boyfriend, her best friend Suzy, and authority figures show a well-rounded character, full of ever-changing nuance.
As a result, the world set up by The Inhabitant seems to dig into real-world emotional struggles, and it's easy to be touched by them. It's too bad the movie springs a dull, poorly-played "whodunit" on us in the end, as well as a race-against-time to save the day. It had the stuff to be something much better, but the good parts make it worth a look.
|
