The Ones Below

The film's ultimate reveal is hardly shocking, and that the film spends a gratuitous amount time unspooling it long after it's clear what has gone down feels indulgent and unearned.

There are elements of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle here, but Mr. Farr and an excellent cast of four give it fluidity and balance without the familiar "gotcha."

The Ones Below demonstrates true artistry, with sharp dialogue and the actors to carry it, a perfect pleasure for those who want to dwell in their deepest fears.

Even as events turn more than a tad preposterous with twists that seem not just predictable but inevitable, Farr keeps a handle on the tension and tone, which keeps us hooked.

There's much to admire in the thriller "The Ones Below."

Capably delivering on its ominous title, "The Ones Below" is a masterfully calibrated psychological thriller that deviously plays off of anxieties surrounding contemporary notions of domesticity and identity.

This is one of those nails scratching a blackboard suspense stories. It is the kind of film where terrible things happen, and you know more terrible things are going to happen. You just don't know exactly what, or when.

A quality effort that unsettles even as it gets silly, with Poésy's convincingly spooked performance holding things together when subtlety finally flees the party.

A horror-thriller that gets in several satirical shots at the status envy of modern urban professionals.

A slick but flawed psychological thriller.

"The Ones Below" cannot attest to having the most original of plots. It is an effective film, however, one that ever more tightens its compellingly diabolical grip.

The Ones Below is a powerful thriller, a movie that toys with audience expectation at every turn, making it the type of debut Farr will be proud to lead off his resume with long into the foreseeable future.