DON'T LET HER IN (2021)

 WHAT'S IN THESE GREEN SMOOTHIES?  THEY MAKE ME FART LIKE A BUTT TRUMPET! 

Wow, I named a volume of ADVENTURES IN CERPTSLAND "FART LIKE A TRUMPET" before I ever saw this new-ish Full Moon movie from 2021!  But that semi-quote from DON'T LET HER IN makes it seem like another Full Moon goofy-fest and it's not; in fact this is a totally-to-be-taken seriously horror movie by director Ted Nicolaou.  Now, this is the director who helmed no doubt the best Full Moon movies ever made:  the SUBSPECIES franchise.  This here movie has no relation to the SUBSPECIES series but is a stand-alone flick; although the ending leaves a sequel very much a possibility. 

Amber & Ben (Kelly Curran & Cole Pendery respectively) have a loft apartment in L.A. and need some extra bucks so they advertise for a roommate.  A striking young woman named Serena interviews for the room and is quickly accepted as the new roommate.  Ben is a musician, Amber is an artist and Serena is a goth, new-agey, artistic type who sells bowls of crystals, herbs, etc. keyed to the 'souls' of her high-end clients.  Something like that.  Although I have to let Serena know that peacock feathers are bad luck in the house so she should remove that from the "good luck" bowl she gives Amber & Ben as a 'moving in' present.  But I digress as usual.  Things start looking up as Amber gets a high paying gig to do art for Serena's company and Ben gets a music contract and goes off to work on his album/music video.  Could all this have something to do with Serena; who is caught a few times by Amber chanting madly in the the loft space.  Oh yeah, and she climbs on top of Ben in bed and rides him like a bronco while Amber sleeps right next to him.  Hmmm. 

To top that all off, just before Ben 'arrives', Serena transforms into this demon-monster-looking creature. Ah well, Ben takes off and Amber is alone with Serena.  And whaddaya know.  Serena jumps into bed with Amber and gives her as intense a 'Big O' as she gave Ben.  Meanwhile, a long-haired dude is glimpsed hanging around outside their building.  Serena says it's her ex-boyfriend and chases him away.  However, the man is soon back telling Amber that Serena stole something from him -- an ancient stone statue -- and he needs to have it back or else the whole world's gonna fo poof or something to that effect.  Meanwhile, Serena reveals that Amber is now pregnant.  Even though she's on the pill.  All through the movie, Serena makes these green smoothies and she makes Amber drink them but they make Amber feel ill (as well as giving her monstrous gas as previously mentioned.  This is the 15 minutes of the film which REALLY takes it's cue from ROSEMARY'S BABY; right down to the historic old building in which this flick is filmed -- which I'll get to in a minute.  Serena slowly reveals she may not be all she appears and may indeed be possessed by a demon.  

DON'T LET HER IN is a nice departure from the last decade or so of Full Moon movies like GINGERDEAD MAN, KILLJOY, EVIL BONG and the like which I enjoy but aren't really 'horror movies' but horror comedies.  The acting from everyone in the small cast is pretty good and Nicolaou directs a kinda-lightweight but effective script with a sure hand.  There's nothing really new here; from the ROSEMARY'S BABY overtones to the "roommate from Hell" trope but it's all done competently and entertainingly.  This is the film Ted Nicolaou made right before helming the long-awaited prequel to his SUBSPECIES series (which was even better than this movie).  Particularly good is Lorin Doctor as Serena whose only film this appears to be.  Doctor is totally in command of the screen every scene she's in and I would like to see her get more gigs.  Sadly, it looks like she's had nothing else in the last 3 years so that's something I think Charlie Band needs to put right soon.  As mentioned, the loft apartment building used as the setting for the movie is the famed 1908 Starkman Building in Los Angeles which not only is reputed to be haunted but also has been used in films ranging from TERRIFIER, REPO MAN and WISHMASTER 2 to NATIONAL TREASURE and episodes of HOUSE, COLUMBO and IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA.  I can see why because the building oozes atmosphere and is a terrific setting for DON'T LET HER IN.  While no horror masterpiece, I enjoyed this probably more than it deserves but enjoy it I did.