Come out to the country, we’ll have a few laughs!
Or not, as the case may be.
R BNB is the new horror thriller directed by Robert Mann. It stars Ryon Thomas and Bryanna McQueeney as a couple celebrating their one-year wedding anniversary with a trip to get away from the hubbub of city life. Little do they know that they’ve booked the worst possible destination, changing their lives forever.
If nothing else, this movie will motivate you to look at reviews before booking a Bed and Breakfast in the middle of nowhere!
A rich forty-something multi-divorcee, Ryan (Ryon Thomas), and his twenty-something bride, Mia (Bryanna McQueeney), celebrate their one-year anniversary, booking a long weekend away in the country. Their hosts, Bed and Breakfast owners Kylo (Alex Garlick) and Aubree (Savannah Whitten), seem nice enough, if a little overbearing, and the landscape is extraordinarily beautiful.
But all is not as it seems. The staff are abnormally creepy, and with no cell service, the secluded hideaway seems increasingly dangerous. The couple’s romantic getaway transforms into a nightmare when their jovial hosts show their psychopathic side.
Is this the worst holiday booking of all time? Maybe it’s not the worst. It’s not like the guest house from X or the hostel from Hostel, but it’s pretty bad!
Tension is a horror movie’s best friend. Especially ones with a small budget. You can achieve a lot without doing too much. Unfortunately, that tension was broken at the beginning via a flashforward. What was going to happen? Who is the danger, and when and where does it present itself? It’s all laid on a plate 10 minutes into the film. It took the mystery away. And the scares.
What’s a horror-thriller movie without scary moments and tension?
Sometimes, I had to suspend some disbelief. A major plot point shows Ryan discovering surveillance equipment in his room. It was a couple of days into their vacation, and it was only when he heard some strange noises and tried to discover the source that he found them. These cameras were the size of a half-eaten hot dog and barely concealed. I mean, come on! One was “hidden” on a curtain rail where the curtains meet in the middle! How did they not notice that?
The movie’s premise is a classic: a secluded area with no cell service and some creepy goings on. It’s a tough task to balance genre nods and cliches, and this didn’t feel like it struck the right balance. The wife is a squeaky clean saint. The husband is a rich sort of asshole with an overbearing sister who wants to make sure Mia isn’t in it for the money. The BnB owners are a nice, over-friendly couple with sinister intentions. They are all things that can be telegraphed from a mile away, with barely ever a surprise (aside from the ending).
There were some standout performances from the cast. Savannah Whitten excelled in particular, showing the range needed to portray both a chirpy host and a hysterical psychopath. She made the two aspects of the character believable, showing the undercurrent of mania within her jovial performance. Gloria Mann, playing the part of Ryan’s controlling tough-as-nails sister, also did a great job.
The story was interesting, and I was intrigued to see where it went. The couple’s motive made them a tiny bit sympathetic, and I could see how they became this way. Grief and desperation transformed them into monsters, and it was interesting to explore further.
The ending twist was also something I really enjoyed. I won’t spoil it, but the moment directly before the fade to black was genuinely surprising. And somewhat enjoyable!
Despite a promising premise, this movie failed to deliver the two main components needed for a horror-thriller: tension and scary moments. The flashforward at the 10-minute mark ensured this movie became predictable with little edge-of-your-seat twists and turns.
A good performance from the cast and a genuinely surprising final moment couldn’t rectify the damage done by the decision to take the mystery out of the film so early.
