The Occupant Of The Room

Bluesky

It was a dark and stormy night. At least, this much we can infer from the crescendo of music and sound which introduces episode two of Severin Films’ Haunted Season series on Shudder. Following on from Sean Hogan’s deliciously unsettling To Fire You Come At Last, it’s an adaptation of Algernon Blackwood’s 1909 short story about a solo traveller who arrives at a hotel among frozen mountains to find it fully booked – apart from one room which is only technically occupied, as the woman who booked it is believed to be lost on the mountain. With fantastic sound design and fierce strings, Janisse does a fine job of establishing the atmosphere, and although we remain inside for the rest of the film, the threatening presence of that mountain never recedes.

The original story is told in the first person and it’s very much an internal, even introspective narrative, presenting obvious challenges to any filmmaker. Janisse shows us the guest’s restlessness by having her lead, Don McKellar, shift around in his bed and then wander round the room itself. There’s a rough edge to his performance which conjures up feelings many insomniacs will be familiar with – that fear of having to get up in the morning unrested, fatigued, which makes it even harder to relax, kicks in ahead of anything potentially supernatural. The lighting changes throughout but for much of the time has the particular quality that signals it’s too early to get up but too late to avoid feeling miserable.

It’s partly through tricks like this that we are drawn into a place where it’s easy to accept this initially upbeat, optimistic man breaking down due to a nonspecific feeling that something is deeply, perhaps existentially awry. is he experiencing some kind of supernatural effect, or is he simply exhausted? Just outside the window, the mountain, or something on it, seems to be watching him, even when the curtains are closed. He cannot get away from the sense of another presence. As he loses his grip, the visual structure of the film itself begins to disintegrate, giving way to an intrusive, aggressive montage accompanied by the frantic pulsing of Anju Singh’s wild score.

To say more about the story would be to give away too much, but it’s worth adding that the film does a superb job of capturing Blackwood’s tale both in the physical design of its spaces and in terms of atmosphere. Fans of the original will find it thrilling, whilst newcomers can expect a satisfactorily uncomfortable experience. Catch it if you can – but, perhaps, not too close to bedtime.

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