The feature directorial debut of “Hanna” and “The Night Manager” writer David Farr, “The Ones Below” is a pregnancy/parenting thriller that’s indebted to Roman Polanski’s “Rosemary’s Baby,” but this film is its own suspenseful animal. In paying homage to the family thriller genre, it weaves references to different classic films into its own uniquely tangled web of suspicion and secrets.
Kate (Cl?mence Po?sy) and Justin (Stephen Campbell Moore) are a young couple with their first child on the way. It wouldn’t be fair to call them blissfully happy: Kate doesn’t have the greatest relationship with her mom and continues to mourn the death of her younger brother, while Justin works too much. But they are content and cozy in their London flat until new neighbors move in downstairs. Wealthy financial investor Jon (David Morrissey) and his perfectly blonde wife, Theresa (Laura Birn), are also expecting their first child, a lifelong dream for them.
It would be wrong to go into detail about the plot points, as they are that much more delicious to experience yourself, but Jon and Theresa start to behave in a strange way toward Kate. They’re like the young, attractive version of the overbearing neighbors in “Rosemary’s Baby,” pushing homemade beverages and unwanted help on the reserved and polite Kate, and as their influence grows, she becomes wan, weak, a shell of herself.
“The Ones Below” is a gripping and creepy thriller that strikes at the true terror of parenthood, and Po?sy’s subtly devastating performance holds the film together. However, some of the plot twists are too abrupt, missing the opportunity to slowly build true suspense and dread. It all wraps up shockingly quickly and on an extremely dark and decisive note.
