Adapted from Susan Hill’s short story of the same name, first published in 2016 anthology collection The Travelling Bag, the film boasts, too, a compelling central turn from singer-songwriter Brandy. Betwixt the pair, sparks fly. Hunter plays Solange, a prejudicial cuckoo in the nest, whose religious zeal is fervent to such a degree that she believes herself able to manifest her faith via earthly powers.
Brandy is Belinda, an anthropology professor, riddled with anxiety and burdened with the lingering grief of a recent stillbirth. As the film opens, she is pregnant once more. Heavily so.
Belinda’s husband is Norman (Andrew Burnap), Solange’s stepson and first port of call on the death of his father. Thrusting herself upon the pair, Solange offers to pay off their mortgage in return for habitation. All too soon, her occupation - of the front room - begins to spread poison throughout the house.
Often grotesque in its visuals and scatological motifs, The Front Room’s superficial horrors never quite progress beneath the skin. Hunter, however, is delightfully fowl throughout. A true nightmare.
If The Front Room isn’t for you, try The Room Next Door, Pedro Almodóvar’s adaptation of the Sigrid Nunez book: What Are You Going Through. The film stars Tilda Swinton as Martha, a former war correspondent with a timer on her head, following a diagnosis of cervical cancer. Julianne Moore is Ingrid, now an acclaimed writer, once Martha’s dearest friend.
This being no longer s.
