Rent-A-Pal (2020) - Slow, but deep

I didn't know what to expect when I sat down to 'Rent-A-Pal' - it's kind of weird-sounding name could mean it's going to go either way.  It's about a forty-something loner back in 1990 who spends his days looking after his elderly mother whose mental health is in a state of rapid decline - hardly a 'feel-good' movie!

Our depressed protagonist is trying to better his life by the early nineties' version of 'online dating,' in other words... renting VHS video tapes from a local matchmaking service showcasing available women.  However, he's not having much luck there and happens to chance on a different type of cassette which features a man (Will 'Wesley Crusher' Wheaton) who offers to 'be your friend.'

If the average runtime for a film is about ninety minutes, you may be surprised to hear that 'Rent-A-Pal' nearly hits the two hour mark and you may wonder whether the premise of a man talking to a recording of another man on the TV can hold out for that amount of time.  And, believe it or not, it can (just).

'Rent-A-Pal' is very much a 'slow burner' and not a rollercoaster ride by any shot.  However, it's beautifully-filmed and the themes of loneliness and isolationism will resonate with many people.  All performances contained in this film are played to perfection and I won't go into the exact details of how the plot pans out, but I will point out that if you find it listed online it will be in the 'horror' category.

It is a little long, like many movies these days.  However, normally if I put myself in the editor's shoes I could probably tell which scenes I'd cut out just to tighten up the overall runtime.  But, here, I really don't know which bits I'd leaving on the cutting room floor - only that towards the starts of the third act I did think it slowed down a little too much.

But, despite that, I found it a far more darkly entertaining 'horror' film than many which are simply zombie flicks or a masked killer with an axe.  As long as you're not expecting wall to wall blood and guts and something far more personal and subtle, you should actually remember this film long after the credits have rolled.

8/10 The Force is definitely strong with this one