Recent Watch - Rental Family (2025)

Last night's watch was 'Rental Family' which I have been wanting to check out forever, and the movie lived up to every expectation I had, and then some. Brendan Fraser in interviews has called it a 'love letter to loneliness,' and honestly, no description fits better.

It's a tender, heart-warming film that explores the stories of some vastly different people in a grounded but really touching way, showing that isolation can come in many forms. I think the movie's biggest strength is in its simplicity; it doesn't ever become overly preachy, nor does it use profound, life-changing scenarios to get its message across. It mainly focuses on the issues of everyday people who crave, or sometimes practically need, someone to play a specific part in their lives, and for their own reasons choose to hire somebody to fill that specific role.

The movie presents its characters as real people without turning them into caricatures to be mocked, or reducing their loneliness or wanting for connection into a joke. Even with scenarios where many, especially western audiences, might wonder "why would someone do that?" it never resorts to ridicule; it doesn't judge the people who hire someone for the experience of companionship, friendship, or sexual intimacy, nor does it reduce the people who do that work into stereotypes.

Fraser's character Phillip is undeniably the heart of the film. It becomes clear early on that he is, above all else, a genuinely good guy who is not in an ideal place in life, but instead of playing with the usual bitterness and resentment formula, his isolation has made him more perceptive and empathetic towards the loneliness of others.

Which highlights the film's other huge strength: it turns the overused "hurt people, hurt people" trope on its head. Because while traumatic experiences do sometimes lead people down toxic paths, we also need stories that remind us that people with less than ideal backgrounds very often grow to be kind and protective, precisely because the absence of affection has made them acutely aware of its importance. Sometimes hurt people see the hurt in others better than anyone else.

We're not shown any lengthy flashbacks about Phillip's childhood, but we get enough info on how he grew up with an absent father and that his mother has passed, and the film trusts the audience to connect the dots as to what motivates him besides the initial need of being an actor out of work. Beyond the job, in the two main storylines Phillip's actions are primarily driven by the fact that he sees the loneliness in Mia and in Akira Emoto's character and, arguably, they see the loneliness in him, too. And that's what shapes both of those connections. 

In the end of the day, you don't need to fully understand someone's culture, background, or life choices to see the humanity in them, or to accept that yearning for the presence of a proud parent, or someone to play video games with, or someone to vent to, or any simple gesture or act of kindness is a deeply rooted human need. This is fundamentally the theme that the film sets to explore, and it does so brilliantly.

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Recent Watch - Send Help (2026)

Last night's 'it's 1am and I can't sleep' watch was 'Send Help', which I wanted to love but found just OK. It felt oddly restrained for a Raimi film, it had its funny moments and a few of his trademarks, but overall it didn't know where to lean. The movie clearly didn't set out to make any grand commentary on workplace sexism or social dynamics, though those themes are utilised quite well, and it never pretended to be elevated horror (not that I particularly like the artistic division the term creates), but I wish it had picked a lane between taking its plot points more seriously or, preferably, going fully unhinged, instead of remaining in a tame middle. Much like I wish Raimi had been given free rein to go full-on horror with 'Multiverse of Madness'.

I'm generally not a fan of the 'socially anxious/neurodivergent character played as an exaggerated caricature' trope, but it can work. There's a bit of 'Carrie' and a bit of 'Misery' in this, blended with some strong 'Triangle of Sadness' elements. Can't say I didn't enjoy it, but the way it ends also involves another trope I don't especially love either.

On the plus side, it's good seeing Sam Raimi return to his horror roots after way over a decade, and the casting was spot-on: Dylan O’Brien makes a very convincing insufferable tech-bro nepo baby, and Rachel McAdams is fantastic as Linda. I just wish the movie didn't hold back in certain aspects with her and had taken some even bolder steps to reach its full potential.

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