Co-directors Zack Imbrogno and Horst Dieter Baum's suspense/sci-fi psychothriller (well, depends on one's definition of "thrills") is zero-budget, indie/minimalist fare in the manner of Paranormal Activity—minus the pseudodocumentary gimmick of found-footage and camera-lens POVs. This only points out how interesting those found-footage and camera-lens POVs actually were.
The young Californians Ben (filmmaker Imbrogno) and Erin (Maxxe Sternbaum) relocate to wintery New York City because Ben's sister took a three-month sojourn to Africa for her nonprofit, and they can borrow her affordable apartment. Ben has landed a career-making script job with a network sitcom. A less enthused Erin goes along with the adventure, working from the apartment on her vague, internet content-generation gig.
The building is stark and unfriendly. Odd sounds emanate from pipes and ducts, feeding into the pair's living space, and utilities fail mysteriously. Homebound Erin glimpses darting figures and finds windows and doors left open. The only active neighbor, Chris (Jordan Lewis) is a nerdy IT guy—or so he claims to be, until, when confronted, he claims to be something else. Is Chris stalking Erin, or is there some conspiracy of unbelievably vast proportions going on? Possible clue: a weird light in the sky Erin and Ben saw from the roof.
The revelation that Erin has gone off medication throws some doubt that what we're seeing. Are they two callow West Coast youths, out of their depth in the intimidating cold, grey Eastern metropolis, losing touch with reality? Or is it true cosmic terror? There is a Twilight Zone explanation, unlikely to satisfy viewers whether taken literally or not.
Audiences can respect the severe, disciplined, Kubrickian long takes and severe camera angles without ever deciding whether the three-character narrative is a no-nonsense dive into urban alienation—or just all nonsense. Very little is seen of the Big Apple, which might have been a clever move or merely kept costs down. Scully, Mulder, your thoughts?
There is profanity and a hint of bloody violence and body functions, at the PG-13 level, but no sex or nudity. An optional addition to spooky mainstream shelves in public libraries.