Preview by Jon Donnis
A rundown apartment complex in Louisville, Kentucky, becomes the setting for a blood-soaked supernatural nightmare in LANDLORD, an independent vampire horror thriller from director Remington Smith and production company BLACK MANDALA.
The film takes a familiar rule of vampire mythology, that a vampire cannot enter a home without an invitation, and gives it a disturbing twist. What happens when the vampire owns the property? For the tenants of LANDLORD, the answer is considerably more frightening than an unwelcome visitor at the door.
The story follows a nameless black bounty hunter who arrives in Louisville during a sweltering summer to recover a stolen briefcase. What initially appears to be a straightforward job soon becomes something far more dangerous when he discovers the truth about the building's white landlord, a vampire who can enter his tenants' homes without asking permission.
The situation takes a darker turn when the landlord murders the mother of a young tenant named Alex. With the boy left vulnerable, the bounty hunter finds himself taking on the role of protector, forcing the unlikely pair to confront a supernatural threat that has control over both their homes and their lives.
LANDLORD looks to combine traditional vampire horror with the rough edges of neo-Western cinema and American independent filmmaking. Rather than relying solely on gothic castles and familiar supernatural settings, director Remington Smith places the story in a recognisable urban environment, where deteriorating interiors, sun-bleached streets and oppressive summer nights help establish an unsettling atmosphere.
There is also a more grounded idea at the heart of the film. Housing, ownership and financial power become part of the horror, with the landlord's control over the building giving him an alarming degree of authority over the people living there. The vampire mythology provides the supernatural threat, but the imbalance between landlord and tenant gives the conflict a distinctly contemporary edge.
The film's approach to horror also promises practical gore effects and a brooding, John Carpenter-inspired musical score, suggesting an interest in atmosphere and physical effects alongside its more visceral moments. Shot on location in Louisville, LANDLORD appears keen to make its setting an important part of the experience rather than simply using it as a backdrop for the violence.
Written and directed by Smith, the film stars Adama Abramson, Cohen Cooper, William McKinney, Lance Gerard, J. Barrett Cooper, Patrick Mitchell, Melissa Combs and Meredith Frankie Crutcher.
LANDLORD has already made its world premiere at Grimmfest and was selected for the Frontières Buyers Showcase at the Marché du Film in Cannes, giving the independent horror production an early presence on the festival and industry circuit.
By combining vampire folklore with the anxieties surrounding housing and power, LANDLORD offers a different angle on a well-established horror subgenre. Its central idea is simple but effective: when the person who owns your home is also a creature of the night, the usual rules of survival no longer apply.
