Alyssa Haroldson has recently moved to Los Angeles, and she instantly has an opportunity to move into a beautiful apartment and given an enormous break on rent. For Alyssa, it is all "too good to be true." No words have ever been more accurately stated.
Oliver Hall is the nice young realtor who introduced Alyssa to the landlord Robert Farnsworth. But what Alyssa is not told at the outset is that the previous tenant, Meghan, died in the bathtub of apartment 2013, which Alyssa will now be renting.
At first, Robert seems to be concerned for Alyssa's welfare. But all too soon, she discovers an edgy and possessive side to him. An apparent veteran of the first Gulf War, Robert had served in Iraq at the same time as Alyssa's beloved dad, who died in combat. Alyssa still has the flag that was given in her dad's honor, and she is naturally drawn to Robert as a father figure.
But Alyssa also has good boundaries, which are apparent in her stand-up comic routine, where she invites audience members to share their phones with her. She never thoroughly humiliates them, but keeps the banter light and enjoyable.
One of the interesting touches of the filmmakers was to give Robert a pair of infrared goggles, and, with his sophisticated security set-up, is able to virtually enter Alyssa's apartment, eavesdrop on her conversations and spy on her at will.
An interesting set of secondary characters includes the tenant Katie, who recognizes Robert's perversion, and Robert's domineering sister Helen. A stalker named Sam has pursued Alyssa to L.A. and poses a threat early in the film. The identity of the stalker is quite a revelation to both Alyssa and the audience.
"Fatherly Obsession" (a.k.a., "The Landlord") was well-paced, and the action came to a head with a special Thanksgiving meal in which Robert has invited Alyssa. The affair, which was intended as a large family gathering, turns into a table for two with the maniacal Robert having intricately planned to corner Alyssa. But he had not counted on the strong backbone of Alyssa, as well as her improvisatory skills learned from stand-up, to meet his match at the most critical moment of the last supper.
Oliver Hall is the nice young realtor who introduced Alyssa to the landlord Robert Farnsworth. But what Alyssa is not told at the outset is that the previous tenant, Meghan, died in the bathtub of apartment 2013, which Alyssa will now be renting.
At first, Robert seems to be concerned for Alyssa's welfare. But all too soon, she discovers an edgy and possessive side to him. An apparent veteran of the first Gulf War, Robert had served in Iraq at the same time as Alyssa's beloved dad, who died in combat. Alyssa still has the flag that was given in her dad's honor, and she is naturally drawn to Robert as a father figure.
But Alyssa also has good boundaries, which are apparent in her stand-up comic routine, where she invites audience members to share their phones with her. She never thoroughly humiliates them, but keeps the banter light and enjoyable.
One of the interesting touches of the filmmakers was to give Robert a pair of infrared goggles, and, with his sophisticated security set-up, is able to virtually enter Alyssa's apartment, eavesdrop on her conversations and spy on her at will.
An interesting set of secondary characters includes the tenant Katie, who recognizes Robert's perversion, and Robert's domineering sister Helen. A stalker named Sam has pursued Alyssa to L.A. and poses a threat early in the film. The identity of the stalker is quite a revelation to both Alyssa and the audience.
"Fatherly Obsession" (a.k.a., "The Landlord") was well-paced, and the action came to a head with a special Thanksgiving meal in which Robert has invited Alyssa. The affair, which was intended as a large family gathering, turns into a table for two with the maniacal Robert having intricately planned to corner Alyssa. But he had not counted on the strong backbone of Alyssa, as well as her improvisatory skills learned from stand-up, to meet his match at the most critical moment of the last supper.