''The Inhabitant'' is a 2022 horror/thriller film directed by Jerren Lauder, written by Kevin Bachar and starring

Odessa A'zion Odessa Zion Segall Adlon (born June 17, 2000), also known as Odessa A'zion, is an American actress. She is known for her television roles in the CBS series '' Fam'' and the Netflix series ''Grand Army''. Early life and education A'zion is from L ...

Leslie Bibb Leslie Louise Bibb (born November 17, 1974) is an American actress and model. Bibb first appeared on television in 1996 with minor roles in a few series, and on film in 1997 with a small role in '' Private Parts''. Her first recurring TV role wa ...

Dermot Mulroney Dermot Mulroney (born October 31, 1963) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in romantic comedy, western, and drama films. Appearing on screen since 1986, he is known for his work in various films such as '' Young Guns'' (1988), '' Stay ...

and

Lizze Broadway Elizabeth Broadway (born February 16, 1998) is an American actress best known for her role as Emma Shaw in ''Gen V'', and for her roles in ''The Rookie (TV series), The Rookie'', ''Splitting Up Together'', ''Here and Now (2018 TV series), Here an ...

. ''The Inhabitant'' follows a teenage girl who fears that she may be behind a series of gruesome murders in her town, particularly as she is a descendant of Lizzie Borden.

Plot

The film centers on Tara, a teenage girl who believes that her family is the target of a horrific curse that started with their ancestor, the notorious

Lizzie Borden Lizzie Andrew Borden (July 19, 1860 – June 1, 1927) was an American woman tried and acquitted of the August 4, 1892 axe murders of her father and stepmother in Fall River, Massachusetts. No one else was charged in the murders, and despite ost ...

. Those suffering from the curse experience nightmares, murderous impulses, and visions of Lizzie, who urges them to commit murder. Fearful and depressed, Tara's only solace is her hobby of redesigning vintage clothing, which her mother Emily sells for her online. When several townspeople are discovered murdered the police are quick to suspect Tara as all of the victims had issues with her and the murderer was seen wearing one of Tara's dresses. Seeking answers, Tara goes to visit her aunt Diane, who was institutionalized for the murder of her infant child. During the meeting Diane claims that Emily experienced the same curse, implying that Emily may be the murderer. Left with more questions than answers, Tara decides to visit Borden House with her boyfriend Carl. While at the house Tara learns that Lizzie was an excellent seamstress, causing her to wonder if the dresses are a trigger. Intrigued, Tara sends Suzy to her house to fetch some dresses. When the girl does not return or respond to calls, Tara and Carl travel to Tara's home, where she learns that her aunt has escaped from the mental institution. She also learns that her mother is the true killer and that Emily had also killed Diane's baby, as she believed it to be the product of incest between Diane and their father. In a psychotic rage Emily sympathizes with Lizzie Borden, who she believes killed her parents due to her mother's suspected infidelity. Emily then turns to slaughter Tara, but before she can do so, Emily is shot down by the police, as Tara's brother Caleb had called for help. The film ends with one of Tara's brothers talking to the spirit of Lizzie Borden, implying that he is a victim of the same curse.

Cast

as Tara Haldon *

as Emily Haldon *

as Ben Haldon *

as Suzy Beemer * Kenneisha Thompson as Detective Childs * Todd Jenkins as Mikhail Loeb

Production

Producer Leone Marucci first optioned the script in 2019; Dermot Mulroney and Lizze Broadway were named as two of the film's stars. The film was one of several impacted by the

Covid-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, as it experienced a short delay in filming. During this time the script was reworked so that ''The Inhabitant'' could be filmed with a smaller cast and in a single location.

Filming

Principal photography for ''The Inhabitant'' took place in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

and the surrounding areas, including Broken Arrow in November 2020. Production took place over a month with down time due to a COVID situation. Much of the shooting was at night working on practical sets in existing homes.

Release

''The Inhabitant'' was given a limited theatrical release on October 7, 2020, alongside a release on VOD. The film received a home video release on

Blu-Ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

on November 15, 2022. The Blu-Ray featured a behind the scenes featurette and a commentary track by the writer, Kevin Bachar, and producer, Leone Marucci.

Reception

''The Inhabitant'' holds a rating of 71% on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, based on 7 reviews. Common elements of praise center on its tension, characters, and cinematography, with ''

Easy Reader Founded in 1970, the ''Easy Reader'' is a weekly newspaper published every Thursday and delivered to homes in Hermosa Beach, Manhattan Beach, and Redondo Beach (Beach Cities/ South Bay, California), with a circulation of approximately 45,000 w ...

'''s Neely Swanson writing that "the writing, directing, production values, and acting are all first rate." Reviewers for

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

and In Review Online were more critical, with Common Sense Media's Jeffrey Anderson praising the characters while also writing that "It's too bad the movie springs a dull, poorly played whodunit on viewers in the end, as well as a race against time to save the day."

References

External links

Official Website

Official Website

Official Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Inhabitant Cultural depictions of Lizzie Borden American horror films