Home » Rent-A-Pal: Who Says Friends Can’t be Bought? [Review]

Rent-A-Pal: Who Says Friends Can’t be Bought? [Review]

Just when you thought the film industry was running out of original ideas, filmmaker Jon Stevenson was exploring the weird side of the Internet and stumbled onto a digitized version of an old VHS tape called, “Rent-A-Friend.” The title is self explanatory; need a buddy? Rent one! Hosted by an enigmatic yet charming Sam, Rent-A-Friend offered entertainment, advice, and most importantly, friendship, to lonely people in a pre-digital age. “Who would watch this?!” Stevenson asked himself. The answer to that question would ultimately become Rent-A-Pal.

Rent-A-Pal follows David, a bachelor in 1990 who seeks a partner through a video dating service to get him out his mundane routine of caring for his aging mother. One day he discovers a strange VHS tape called ​Rent-A-Pal. Hosted by the charming and charismatic Andy. The tape offers him much-needed company, compassion, and friendship. But it isn’t long before David discovers Andy’s friendship comes at a cost David may not be able to afford.

Gripping, complex and occasionally claustrophobic, ​Rent-A-Pal is a solid story seeped in nostalgia that’s a blast as well as a deeply engaging study in slow burn intensity.

Also See: Get The Hell Out is a Zombie Comedy That Succeeds at Satire And Splatter [TIFF Review]

Despite lacking the supernatural element the trailer teases (something I was looking forward to), Rent-A-Pal is an interesting take on the conventional decent into madness kind of thriller.

Wicked Rating: 7/10

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Written by Fallon Gannon
Way too much coffee. Way too much true crime. Not enough sleep.
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