The Landlord (2009)

Massive Ego Productions

R1 and Blu Ray

Web: http://www.massiveegoproductions.com

Tyler is a young man with a problem. He manages the rental apartments in an old house owned by his money-hungry sister, but they don’t make much money because a pair of demons, Rashtu and Lamashtu, have set themselves up in the building and keep eating the tenants of the top floor apartment. The record so far is two tenants within four hours of their moving in, which makes it hard for Tyler to collect much rent. The demons leave him alive because he is something of a pet to them. His credit card also comes in useful for ordering tacky dragon statues and beef jerky makers.

There are plenty of new tenants available but the local police detectives suspect Tyler has something to do with the constant disappearances in the area. His sister, a policewoman, knows about the demons and also has some sort of deal with a local gang of zombies and vampires in her role as a Satanist. She is, however, no help to Tyler with the detectives. It is a constant battle to dispose of clothing, bones and other evidence that the police would use. Fortunately Rashtu likes TV police shows and understands the importance of DNA in evidence. He shows Tyler how to consign the rubbish and body parts to Hell and so far there have been no complaints from Down There. It seems noone can help Tyler out of his troubles.

His newest tenant is a girl on the run from a brutal husband and looking for an abortion and a divorce. She and Tyler become friends and for the first time in his otherwise lonely life Tyler comes to care for someone. Then the demons discover she is pregnant. They find babies particularly tasty so they decide to look after her until the baby arrives. Her ex-husband arrives first. How can Tyler protect her, placate the demons, and save his own skin as well?

For an independent production the film is a great piece of work. There are particularly fine performances by Derek Dziak (Tyler), Rom Barkhordar (Rabisu) and Michelle Corvais (his new girlfriend). The film abounds in little comedy touches like Rabisu’s dreadful taste in floral shirts. Writer / Director Emil Hyde has kept the CGI to a minimum so it doesn’t detract from the overall humour of the film. Frankly it is all done so well that it has none of the low-budget indie look. It has the traditional horror look but the dark humour gives it that something extra that lifts it out of the ordinary.

Extras include the usual “making of …”, deleted scenes and other tasty bits.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.2 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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