Horror anthology mix of gore, tears, and laughs

Tenants is an anthology that starts when Emily (Kathryne Isabelle Easton) wakes up in the parking garage of an apartment complex. She begins to search for her sister as a mysterious being hunts for her. While she makes her way through the building each of her interactions leads to unspeakable horrors.

Even the darkest anthologies have a sense of levity to them. The stories are meant to scare and can be gross, but they are also fun. Tenants follows many tropes of the sub-genre. Disgusting rashes, tales of lost love, and crying babies all make an appearance. And it can be a lot of fun.

But Tenants also has a strange tonal shift that is not seen in these types of movies. ‘Hoarder’ is filled with sadness while ‘Laundry Day’ deals with a heavy subject. Though both are staples of anthologies, they are treated very seriously. Scares are placed in the background as emotion takes center stage. It ends up being jarring – especially in ‘Laundry Day’ which is incredibly dour up until its wacky ending.

Which is not to say the film is devoid of any fun. ‘Acting Rash’ and ‘Need Anything’ have the type of over the top silliness that is to be expected. ‘Need Anything’ may be the best segment of the bunch.. It is funny and gory and has a great ending. ‘Nah’ is a close second mainly due to it having the best joke in Tenants. 

The wraparound plays a more active role than usual. Its main purpose is still to introduce the next tale, but there are actual exchanges between Emily and the characters in the stories. That being said, they mean very little to the actual plot. The connection between Emily and the tenants does not have the impact the script seems to be aiming for. Still, it has enough fun moments.

Tenants is now available on demand.