The Stream: Slow-burn flick with a basic storyline

The Big Screen: High anxiety and sadistic moments that will make you think twice about moving

The Final Bill: Not what you would expect from the description but intense

Director: David Marmor
Writer: David Marmor
Stars: Nicole Brydon Bloom, Giles Matthey, Taylor Nichols | See full cast & crew
Runtime: 1 hour 24 minutes
Genre: Drama, Horror, Thriller 
Rating: R or TV-MA- for violence, language and blood
Platform: Netflix (released April 20, 2020)

Well, well, well streamers. It’s taking everything in me to not drive 45 minutes to go to a movie theater. So instead I decided to check out the ye old Netflix and review movie a random movie picked by my wife. I don’t know how she got on this, but 1BR it is. Of course she picked a horror flick that she was going to be squeamish through, but it wasn’t even her fault this time. The Netflix description is quite deceptive: “Seeking her independence, a young woman moves to Los Angeles and settles into a cozy apartment complex with a disturbing sense of community.” Intrigued by that vague description? So was she. So let’s see if the people should stream this #6 film on Netflix.

So you have the idea of the movie right? No, no you don’t. Yes, this movie is going to be exactly that. Crazy neighbors that’s nothing new. But this movie goes a bit more than a disturbing sense of community. It might be better off to say a confusing/misguided sense of community. In fact, this community makes you want to side-eye all of your neighbors and not move into a single. In that sense the movie does a really good job at its intent. Horror…. check. Thriller… not so much. I mean I definitely had high anxiety during small parts of the movie, but was I thrilled? Ehhh. The movie took too long to really get going even though you are constantly side-eyeing the neighbors. I won’t say I was bored throughout, but I did find myself checking the timer like when are we going to get to a resolution. While the intense moments are off the charts, the in-between moments are forgettable and make the movie longer than necessary. And when I say forgettable, I should mention the cast. No one really stood out, good or bad. Our main gal, Nicole Bloom playing Sarah, has a challenging role, but I wouldn’t call her a scream queen. There were moments she popped. but more of just blah. But we’re there for the disturbing neighbors anyway.

With that said, 1BR was destined for the streaming services. I would’ve been disappointed on the big screen, but in the comforts of my living room, I got my monies worth. 1BR isn’t special but it’s definitely worth watching just to chat with your friends about how wild some of these moments are. You don’t have to rush to see it, but if you want a slightly shocking flick to wake you up and talk you out of moving from your apartment, grab a bowl of popcorn and enjoy this guilty pleasure.