The Amityville Horror meets Pacific Heights – this must have been the pitch used to sell this film. Juliette Lewis plays a young woman who decides to move into her first apartment. Her celebrity weatherman boyfriend (William Hurt) would rather see her move in with him, but she isn’t ready for that. So, she jumps at the opportunity to take a cheap apartment (thanks to her deceased aunt putting her name on the lease) in a building that Hitchcock would have loved. The tenants include a nutty landlord (Shelley Duvall soaks up leftover Jack Nicholson/The Shining madness for this role). Tobin Bell plays a locksmith who lives across the way, taking full advantage of the saying – “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.” Austin Pendleton plays the neighbour Lewis is warned to “just leave alone.” But who is the mysterious annoyance that lives directly downstairs from Lewis on the 4th floor?
The 4th Floor plays up this central mystery with a good deal of intrigue and creepiness. Who is down there and what is their motive? Do they just want her to move out or is it something more sinister? Personally, I would take the hint when someone is busting through my floorboards and infesting my domain with mice and maggots. But Lewis wants to stay, despite the landlord’s page of inane do’s-and-don’ts, and she’s determined to learn the who and why.
Unfortunately, The 4th Floor is not the most effective of thrillers you’ll ever see. Setting up the audience with a good premise is one thing, but paying it off is another. And, unfortunately, the film resorts to cheap violence and an ambiguous final shot that leaves even more unanswered questions than the film presented in the first place. During its climax we learn of a crazy motive for what’s been happening, but it just doesn’t all add up. The film has some promise, but ends up ranking just slightly better than your average direct-to-video/cable release. The filmmakers, who set up such interesting intrigue during its first hour, betray us by giving us such a routine slasher-like ending. It’s an unfortunate waste.
It ends up as the kind of film that you can put on for a good laugh, but little more. If you take it too seriously, you’re bound to be disappointed. But if you approach this movie with your tongue-in-cheek and a wink in your eye, you’ll likely find some pleasure in it. The neighbours are weird enough to be hilarious and its fun to see all the character actors chew up the scenery. William Hurt plays, perhaps, the creepiest weatherman you’ll ever see in or outside of film. And I dare you not to laugh at the scene where Lewis takes up jump roping to annoy her intolerant downstairs neighbour. You may not get all you want out of The 4th Floor, but I guarantee that you will never look at Styrofoam peanuts the same way again.
