Skip to main content
This suburban nightmare is a testament to the horror of implication, drawing on the vicious politeness of middle-class aggression rather than blood and gore.
Kate and Justin, played by Clémence Poésy and Stephen Campbell Moore, are expecting a baby, as are their new neighbors in the flat downstairs. Yet much like the meticulously-manicured lawn and dreamy pastels of their neighbors' apartment, there is something too perfect about the couple living below. A burst light bulb and a terrible accident lurch the plot into a tightly-wound psychological thriller, testing our ideas about motherhood and how far people will go to build their ideal family.
Laura Birn and The Walking Dead's David Morrissey supply the majority of the film's tension as the offputting neighbors, Teresa and Jon, their eyes glinting with baby crazy as they interrogate Kate about her pregnancy. One minute fondling each other like teenagers, then Jon's head turns and Teresa starts frantically chugging wine. Curious about the "kooky woman" downstairs, Poésy gives a standout performance as the introverted Kate, whose apprehension towards motherhood is rocked by Teresa's overwhelming maternal fervor.
Writer/director David Farr, the mind behind the fairy-tale-meets-Bourne thriller, Hanna, employs tantalizing sparity when untangling the plot. The camera always catches just enough to connect the dots, like when they come home to a suspicious gas leak and Justin's exasperated sigh reveals the unreliability of Kate's postpartum fog.
Although the pacing remains taut throughout, the camera always finds time for color-conscious cinematography, the bright palette in Teresa and Jon's apartment creating a surreal, acrylic perfection, as opposed to the steely blues and greys upstairs, where Kate and Justin's marriage could use work. Like Rosemary's Baby by way of David Lynch, The Ones Below is a feast for the eyes and an adrenaline shot to the womb.
Critic's Grade: B+
Rated R.
Willamette Week
