In the 1992 classic thriller movie Single White Female, Allie Jones (Bridget Fonda) becomes totally freaked out by her new roommate Hedy Carlson (Jennifer Jason Leigh), who becomes obsessed with her. Allie was just looking for someone to share her apartment and instead, her life becomes a nightmare and spirals out of control. The movie might be cheesy in some aspects, but it tells a strong story about a friendship gone wrong and about two characters who are lonely in their own ways.
The 2011 horror movie The Roommate feels a lot like Single White Female. Sara Matthews (Minka Kelly) is excited to be away at college as she’s got big dreams, and after she starts becoming suspicious of her roomie Rebecca Evans (Leighton Meester), Sara realizes the evil person who she is dealing with. While the movies share similar plots, The Roommate is a truly bad movie.
When The Roommate opens, it feels like it could be a fun movie about college. Sara walks across campus to a catchy pop song, and when she meets Rebecca, it does seem like the two are going to be great friends. The movie does have some elements of solid college movies, as Sara gets into her classes, meets a love interest named Stephen (Cam Gigandet), and gets more used to being on her own. But while this is supposed to be a horror movie, there aren’t any terrifying moments, and it takes a while for Rebecca to really seem like a threat.
There are two ways that Single White Female succeeds where The Roommate fails. First of all, Hedy is a lot scarier and more dangerous than Rebecca. While Rebecca’s obsession with Sara is creepy, Hedy is constantly figuring out ways to get Allie to like and appreciate her. Hedy gets a dog and then when Buddy is found dead, it’s clear that Hedy was responsible. Hedy also gets the same hairstyle as Allie and it seems like she wants to be her. Audiences may get the sense that Rebecca is an awful person, but it takes a while to really think that Sara’s life is truly in danger, which stops the movie from feeling thrilling or terrifying. In some scenes, Rebecca’s character is too subtle and at other moments, her “evil” nature and personality are played up in an unrealistic manner. The movie fails to find the fine balance that is necessary for audiences to understand Rebecca’s motivation while feeling scared and worried about Sara. It just doesn’t come together the way that it should.
The second reason why Single White Female is the better movie? There’s a famous scene when Hedy kills Allie’s boyfriend Sam (Stephen Webber) with a stiletto shoe. There is nothing memorable like this in The Roommate. In the third act, when Rebecca attempts to murder Sara, she tries to strangle her. On the surface, of course this is scary, but it’s not a creative, unforgettable scene. There are many horror movies with kills that stand out, from the death scenes in the Final Destination franchise to all of the Scream films. There are no death scenes in The Roommate that stand out like this.
There are many ways that The Roommate feels like a paint-by-numbers remake of SWF even though it isn’t. In SWF, Allie’s boss (Stephen Tobolowsky) sexually assaults her. Hedy kills him because she wants to get revenge and she wants to help Allie. In The Roommate, Sara’s teacher attempts to kiss her, and Rebecca says that he was going to rape her. Rebecca also kills Sara’s ex-boyfriend Jason (Matt Lanter), just like Hedy kills Sam.
The Roommate also raises questions when Sara learns more about Rebecca’s backstory. While a plot twist can be fantastic, when Sara goes home with Rebecca for Thanksgiving and finds out that Rebecca is bipolar and that she was obsessed with another girl in the past, this feels problematic. Mental health should be discussed in a more compassionate way, and instead of using a horror movie trope in a smart way, The Roommate falls into the trap of calling a character “crazy” as an easy explanation for bad behavior. The movie goes into tricky ground when Sara finds out that Rebecca hasn’t been taking her medication, as if this could all be avoided.
Movies about friendship can be sweet, charming, and have a great message. A horror movie that shows how toxic and scary a friendship can be is definitely a great idea. But making Rebecca a “villain” because she’s “crazy” feels harsh. And when Sara murders Rebecca and is finally free, living in her dorm room in peace and continuing a happier college experience, it’s hard to feel much of anything. Horror and thriller fans should revisit Single White Female instead.
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