Reed Alexander's Horror Review of 'The Current Occupant' (2020)

So, this wasn't really horror, and it's not usually my bag to do movies like this, but I've strayed from my lane before and I think it's appropriate to do that now. So, what do I call this? Cerebral Suspense, Cerebral Thriller? Something in that vein. It's a kin to Cerebral Horror, and it's the best kind that walks the line between madness and reality. On its face, we're given a dilemma, a sort of moment where we're asked to suspend disbelief or reject it entirely. The movie frequently asks the question, "Is it more likely that the President of the United States is being held captive in a mental facility, or that a crazy person in a mental facility thinks they're the President of the United States."

This is on purpose, of course, because the answer is obvious to any sane individual. Obviously, it's more likely that a crazy person would believe they're the president. The point of this movie is to make you question exactly that. And it does a marvelous job of it. I mean, it's a movie, anything is possible. So we could be watching a movie where the president is being held captive in a mental facility, but how far are you willing to go to believe that? At what point do you stop the suspension of disbelief? And the best part is it's never answered, where you are never perfectly sure that it's not a grand conspiracy, and it challenges everything you think you know. Unfortunately, this movie does firmly answer that question eventually and I think they missed the perfect ending. I'll have to discuss it in spoilers.

I have to say, the acting is also absolutely marvelous. Apparently, this is a Blumhouse Production, so it's no surprise that they bring amazing quality. But good lord, this has some award-winning acting. I'm honestly shocked this was a Hulu Into The Dark and not a movie released in the theaters. However, it was a 2020 production and all the theaters were closed due to the SARS-COV-2 Pandemic so some amazing things ended up on streaming services. But seriously, it was a marvelous performance.

The effects were fantastic too. I mean, it didn't require a lot of effects, and the whole thing could be done with lighting and filters, but what little they added into the FX budget was well worth it. A little Green Screening here and there really helped expand the visual insanity of this movie.

I don't usually recommend non-horror as a "Must-Watch" as it's not my wheelhouse, but I'm calling this a "Must-Watch." I have no idea who to recommend this to. I guess general adult audiences can appreciate this. But seriously, DO watch this.

You know, on a more personal note, this movie also depicts the mental health care in this country in a pretty poor, but honestly pretty fair light. The power dynamics are almost completely abusive and having been institutionalized multiple times myself, I have a hard time disagreeing with this narrative. Just know that it's gonna be a hard watch for some people.

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SPOILERS!!!

They really blew the perfect ending. So, just be certain, if you don't want to know how it ends, don't read any further...

Henry 'The President' escapes the mental facility in a pretty harrowing scene and gets back to the Whitehouse to reclaim his seat. The whole scene is really surreal and casts immense amounts of doubt that the whole thing isn't just a psychotic delusion. It could be, after all. And isn't that the whole fucking point of the god damn movie? They should have just left it right fucking there. Leave it in the hands of the audience. Was it a conspiracy or a psychotic break? We all know what's more likely, but isn't it a mind fuck to wonder? And then they fucking ruin it by showing you that it's all a delusion. They had the perfect ending right there and they fucked it all up.

It's still completely worth it, I can't recommend this movie enough, but that ending was disappointing. Still, fantastic movie.