Inhabitants — Inhabitants(VOD)

The premise is straightforward: Olivia and Francis are a young couple starting their lives together by moving into a new home. Olivia, a new-age crystal enthusiast, seeks work at a metaphysical shop run by Denny, while Francis lives with a lapsed Catholic faith. Soon after settling in (though "soon" feels generous given how slowly things move), Francis begins experiencing night terrors, visions of his old youth pastor, and supernatural manifestations, including words appearing on walls.

 

Here's the problem: nothing happens for the first 26 minutes. The film doesn't truly kick into gear until the 37-minute mark, leaving you wondering if you've accidentally put on a slow-burning indie drama instead of a horror film. It's mind-numbingly slow, and it can’t fully decide what kind of film it wants to be.

 

Just as things start becoming vaguely suspenseful, Francis inflicts a rather unusual grooming injury on himself and gets rushed to the hospital. This adds nothing to the story. It doesn't move the plot forward, build character, or create meaningful tension; it just happens. This becomes a recurring issue: scenes are added for "suspense" or "scares" that add nothing whatsoever to the story as a whole.

 

Francis' behaviour deteriorates further, and Olivia discovers his old Bibles and faith items in his moving-in boxes, including a handwritten list of his sins (most notably, an excessive amount of solo activities, if you catch my drift). She does some digging, and when things heat up (literally), they flee in the middle of the night to an all-night diner where Francis finally explains his backstory.

 

Don't get me wrong, the performances are solid. Jacoby-Heron and Rivera commit fully to their roles, and there are some effective jump scares peppered throughout. The film contains genuine elements of horror and the supernatural, but they feel like a mishmash rather than a cohesive vision. When Francis's overbearing, religious mother bursts in, demanding that all of Olivia's crystals be removed, it feels like she's wandered in from a completely different film. Did we suddenly switch to a Comedy? I was fully expecting to see Adam Sandler sitting in the corner playing the drums at one point! (If you know, you know.)

 

Eventually, things resolve, and if nothing else, the moral of the story is clear: you can't bury the past. You must confront guilt and trauma before it manifests as a haunting of your soul. It's a decent message buried in a painfully dull film. Even the title feels out of place.

 

For me, it's a hard pass. I wouldn't watch it again. I'm not giving it zero stars because the performances are competent and the cinematography has some genuinely good shots, but that's not enough to save it from being a tedious slog.