The Eggers Brothers’ The Front Room

Evidently, old people scare Millennials and Gen Z, probably because they expect everyone to act responsibly and refuse to accept excuses. Terrifying, right? That must explain the boom of elder horror, in which young healthy twentynothings are stalked and slashed to pieces by psycho octogenarians, like in Ti West’s X. In keeping with the questionable trend, Solange Irwin barely hobbles about on two canes, but she still terrifies her daughter-in-law in Max & Sam Eggers’ The Front Room, based on a Susan Hill (The Woman in Black) short story, which opens tomorrow nationwide.

Right from the start, it is clear The Front Room is set in an alternate universe, where DEI policies hold no sway on college campuses. As she is marginalized within her department, untenured anthropology prof Belinda Irwin decides to go ahead and quit in disgust. However, that leaves her and her public defender husband Norman short on income, with a baby on the way. As a result, she is maybe more receptive than she should be when the step-mother-in-law she never knew she had offers them a (Faustian) deal.

Old Solange will sign over the entire estate of Norman’s recently deceased father, if she can move in with them. Initially, Norman adamantly opposes the idea, insisting Solange is cruelly manipulative and virulently racist, but she convinces him to give her another chance. However, she soon regrets her hastiness.

Of course, Solange immediately takes over the house, causing no end of headaches. Yet, she has a knack for positioning herself as the victim. When the baby comes, Solange’s presence complicates Irwin’s maternal bonding process—or at least that is how she sees it.

Regardless, she has the added stress of cleaning up after her new born infant, as well as Solange. Be forewarned, there are an awful lot of scenes of human excrement in The Front Room. In fact, despite the fact Solange is the film’s evil antagonist, the humiliating ways it depicts her (and actress Kathryn Hunter) are deeply troubling, in the wrong-non-horror-movie, real-life ethical kind of way.

It is maybe fortuitous The Front Room releases the same day as Shudder’s The Demon Disorder, because the Eggers Brothers’ film shares thematic similarities, but compares poorly. Both seem to use the vocabulary of horror cinema to make allegorical statements about the challenges of elder care. The physical and mental decline of family members can feel like a horror show that often flares up at the most inconvenient times. However, the brothers caring for their “possessed” father express anguish that is clearly rooted in love for the old man. In contrast, the film demonizes Solange so unforgivingly, it exhibits the sort of mean-spiritedness it wants to attribute to her.

Nevertheless, Hunter’s performance is certainly brave—to an exhausting fault. She is most certainly gothic. Yet, the way the film makes her wrinkled, twisted body an object of horror pushes the boundary of exploitation.

Brandy [Norwood] projects forceful strength as Belinda Irwin, but the Eggers (Robert Eggers’ younger brothers) oddly undercut her by soft-pedalling Solange’s racism and her pride in the family’s Confederate heritage. On the plus side, that means the film is not as didactic and ideologically charged as the trailer suggests. It just doesn’t like old people. Still, Norwood has the good sense to embrace the camp of the over-the-top dialogue.

The ravages of age (dementia, incontinence) are terrifying. That can inspire an effective horror film. In fact, it did. It’s called The Demon Disorder, so watch it instead. The Front Room might be amusing to experience at late-night screenings, when its inherent cheesiness can be properly appreciated, but it is not otherwise recommended. It opens Friday (9/6) in theaters, including the AMC Lincoln Square.