Max and Sam Eggers’ debut feature film The Front Room is WILD and not what it was marketed to be. Buckle up because sh*t is about to get real. Literally.

The Front Room Review

Horror movies centering around different stages of life are fairly common. Whether the focus is pregnancy and birth (which is always popular) or a mid-life crisis that leads someone on a killing spree, there are a lot of options out there. Aside from Pearl and maybe a small handful of others, the concept of humanity’s end-of-life hasn’t truly been explored. For those who have taken care of an elderly or otherwise infirm family member you know how taxing and depressing it can be, and that’s if you like the person. Imagine you loathed their very existence but were forced to care for them and you get the basic idea of The Front Room.

The Eggers, siblings to Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse, and the upcoming Nosferatu), have put together something that has been incorrectly billed as a religious horror movie. Aside from some scenes that aren’t really fleshed out, the supernatural is missing from the story. It’s more of a dark comedy blended with a domestic thriller that will have you saying what the f__k more than once. It’s shocking, sometimes in excessively gross ways, yet morbidly entertaining. This is one of those movies that makes you comment and even talk back to the screen, something lead star Brandy Norwood encouraged in a pre-recorded message that played before our screening. 

Mother-to-be Belinda (Brandy) is an anthropology professor who after seeing herself being pushed out of her job, ends up quitting to stay home. Unfortunately that adds extra strain on her husband Norman (Andrew Burnap), who doesn’t make much as a public defender. Struggling to pay bills, the two are offered some help from an unexpected and unwanted source: Norman’s estranged, religious whack job of a stepmother, Solange (Kathryn Hunter). In exchange for living out the rest of her days inside the couple’s home, she will give them all of her money and assets. The two agree, with Belinda being the one to get Norman on board. Soon however, Solange begins to exert her unholy influence over the house with her objective clear: replace Belinda as the maternal leader of the household.  

It takes a few for The Front Room to find its footing as the many themes it is trying to tackle fight for supremacy. Is it about race? Finances? Faith? The supernatural? Motherhood? The answer is yes-ish. As mentioned, the supernatural portion is brought up and quickly discarded, which makes you wonder why the Eggers included it at all. With a religious zealot clashing with a woman who has a more science-based view of the world, faith certainly is present throughout. But rather than truly being a plot point it is more of an accessory. Not quite as meaningless as the supernatural aspect but close. At least the random speaking-in-tongues and cult-christian vibes add a bit of creepiness and humor to the proceedings. Money was the deciding factor to move the wizened, hunchbacked terror into their peaceful home. Following that, there are various clashes and moments that do revolve around finances.

At the end of the day though, if I had to pinpoint its actual theme, I would say The Front Room is about race and motherhood. Belinda is married to a white man and faces micro aggressions not only at her job but wherever she goes. Norman may not be a racist but his stepmother is a proud certificate carrying member of the Daughters of the Confederacy. Her snide little remarks about Belinda’s name, her father’s absence (he died, he didn’t leave), all culminate in a jaw-dropping dinner table scene that forced them to address the (hooded) elephant in the room. Those sitting closest to me both laughed and shook their heads in disbelief as Solange threw a white napkin on her head and proceeded to mock Belinda. Which doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of that scene. 

It’s a battle between the two women for dominance and in Solange’s case that means weaponizing her bodily functions. The directors lean all the way into repeated sequences of grossness that include urine, bile, and sh*t. Your mileage may vary on how much of this you find grotesquely amusing. It’s an interesting choice to include so much of this type of humor because it is 100% at odds with the horror element. Any suspense that is built up quickly gets the sh*t knocked out of it or rather slapped onto it. 

None of this unhinged weirdness would work if not for Brandy and the scene-stealing, scenery-chewing Hunter. Marking her first horror role since I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Brandy is back and better than ever. She gives Belinda a warmth that is not to be mistaken for a weakness. This woman is no doormat and her fierce, determined side comes out as the film progresses. Brandy truly turns her performance up to a 10 when Belinda returns from giving birth to baby Laurie and must do what needs to be done in order to protect her family from that withered leech of a mother-in-law. Also hats off to her for dealing with the sheer absurdity Belinda had to face. I know it was fake but just the idea of having fake feces painted on my face is enough to make me dry heave right now. 

Wielding dual canes like some sort of slightly disabled gremlin, Hunter embraces all the foolishness and delivers one memorable, campy performance. In reality she is only 67 years old but she plays the southern belle knocking on death’s door like she’s 150. Her devilish grins, biting dictation, and asthmatic laugh make her an unstoppable force. Her random songs and rhythms, coupled with that voice…it’ll end up stuck in your head for days. 

Verdict

The Front Room is a go-for-broke, absolute bonkers film anchored by a fierce Brandy Norwood and a scenery-chewing Kathryn Hunter. It’s shocking, darkly amusing, and brimming with WTF moments. It’s become almost an A24 staple to show the aging body as grotesque and the Eggers double down on this every chance they can get. It may prove to be divisive among horror fans as wildly out there as it is but I have a feeling it will have a cult following. At the very least Hunter’s Solange will join the ranks of memorable baddies. I still can hear that laugh.

The Front Room opens in theaters on Friday, September 6. It is rated R for language, some violent/disturbing content, brief sexuality and nudity with a runtime of 94 minutes.