The Rental(2020)
2020 · Dave Franco · 88 min
Two couples on an oceanside getaway grow suspicious that the host of their seemingly perfect rental house may be spying on them. Before long, what should have been a celebratory weekend trip turns into something far more sinister.
Horror · Thriller
5.51k votes
TMDB score
3/5
Intensity
2/5
Gore
3/5
Stays with you
How The Rental scares
It spends most of its time as a tense hangout movie, letting jealousy, distrust, and small lies between two couples build slowly before anything overtly scary happens. Once the sense that someone might be watching them takes hold, the mood shifts into cold, creeping paranoia rather than jump scares. The last stretch turns into a harder, more physical nightmare, but the movie earns it through patience rather than shock cuts. It's a good pick if you like slow dread and an ending that leaves you unsettled rather than relieved.
On The Horror Database's 0–5 scare profile, The Rental rates psychological 4/5, visceral 3/5, gore 2/5, lingering effect 3/5, and overall intensity 3/5.
- Psychological: 4 of 5
- Visceral: 3 of 5
- Gore: 2 of 5
- Lingering: 3 of 5
- Intensity: 3 of 5
Slow burn vs Jump scares: 25 of 100 — leans Slow burn
Supernatural vs Real-world: 90 of 100 — leans Real-world
Fun-scary vs Disturbing: 62 of 100 — leans Disturbing
Intensity over runtime
Shape only — no eventsReveal pacing shapeHide pacing shapeHidden by default — shows where the tension peaks and lets up.
A slow, relationship-drama-heavy setup that simmers with unease before turning into a frantic, high-intensity final act.
Intensity across the runtime, 0 to 100: 0, 0, 1, 1, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 5.
How scary is The Rental?
On The Horror Database's 0–5 intensity scale, The Rental rates 3/5 — solidly scary, building its fear through slow-burn dread rather than shocks. It works on both fronts, unsettling the mind while going for the body. Expect it to be moderately gory and genuinely disturbing. Some of it will follow you to bed, but it lets go within a day or so.
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