In the canon of great horror movies, the VHS thriller subgenre is a bustling expression of the cinematic art of the 80s and 90s. With such hits as The Blair Witch Project (1999) and The Last Broadcast (1998), it’s as synonymous with the era as the outlandish fashion and roller skating discos of the time. After a plateau in its presence in the film industry, here comes a fresh and surprising revival in the form of Jon Stevenson’s Rent-A-Pal.
Set in the 1990s, Rent-A-Pal follows lone bachelor David (Brian Landis Folkins) whose tenuous relationship with his elderly mother (Kathleen Brady) leads him down a quest to find other forms of companionship. David stumbles upon a self-help VHS tape designed to be a virtual companion for the viewer, however, as the lines between reality and the virtual world start to blur, he begins to question if there is more to the charismatic host Andy (Wil Wheaton) than meets the eye. It all comes to a head when David strikes up a special connection with a girl, but Andy threatens to jeopardize it all with his sinister looming presence through the screen.
For the most part, Stevenson has crafted a deliciously intoxicating thriller that moves at breakneck speed but burns like a slowly unwinding character study of a man who is yearning for love and affection, desperate to make a connection any which way he can.
Rent-A-Pal often veers into a melodramatic display of extreme solitude at the expense of acting moments that could have proved very powerful. The film has a tendency to flagrantly build up scenes of great verve and cinematic potential only to then collapse in the next scene shortly thereafter. Herein lies the main issue with Rent-A-Pal: at times it cannot balance itself as a coherent thriller without toppling into a comedic farce but, given the onscreen talent at hand, it just about manages to stave this off and flow the narrative in the right direction again.
What the story lacks in excessive plot twists and memorable scenes, it makes up for with an incredibly talented cast. This is particularly true of Folkins, who carries the weight of an emotionally bereft man taking his chances with any hint of attention that comes his way. There is a quiet unnerving magnitude to Folkins performance, complimented by his character’s fraught relationship with his mother.
However, Rent-A-Pal is more than just the latest thriller on the block serving cheap thrills. It’s a fascinating look into extreme loneliness and the search to find a form of companionship in a digitally altered world of social interactions. It is at its essence an ode to the dizzying array of modern dating habits and the casual, seemingly inconsequential fallout of a world of digital companionship.
But make no mistake, Rent-A-Pal never sacrifices the flow of the narrative for the exploration of these character studies. Instead, it steadily works itself with unnerving confidence and brazen self-assuredness to a spectacular ending, a further testament to Stevenson’s brilliant storytelling.
While contentious relationships define Rent-A-Pal, there are moments of genuine hilarity and warm tenderness. In fact, the subtle balance between the harsh realities of solitude and a standout scene of glorious 80s filled nostalgia prove Rent-A-Pal is one of the best independent thrillers of the year so far.
Above everything, the elements of social disengagement in Rent-A-Pal will almost certainly not be lost on an audience in the midst of a global pandemic. Even with the backdrop of the 90s, Stevenson has created a worthy exploration of contemporary paranoia and detached companionship for viewers in 2020.
