X
  • 2020
  • Unrated
  • IFC Midnight
  • 1 h 48 m
  • 2020
  • Unrated
  • IFC Midnight
  • 1 h 48 m

Summary Set in 1990, a lonely bachelor named David (Brian Landis Folkins) searches for an escape from the day-to-day drudgery of caring for his aging mother (Kathleen Brady). While seeking a partner through a video dating service, he discovers a strange VHS tape called Rent-A-Pal. Hosted by the charming and charismatic Andy (Wil Wheaton), the ta...

  • 2020
  • Unrated
  • IFC Midnight
  • 1 h 48 m
  • 2020
  • Unrated
  • IFC Midnight
  • 1 h 48 m

Rent-A-Pal

Metascore Generally Favorable Based on 7 Critic Reviews
61
User Score Generally Favorable Based on 6 User Ratings
6.8
My Score
Hover and click to give a rating Saved

Where to Watch

Summary Set in 1990, a lonely bachelor named David (Brian Landis Folkins) searches for an escape from the day-to-day drudgery of caring for his aging mother (Kathleen Brady). While seeking a partner through a video dating service, he discovers a strange VHS tape called Rent-A-Pal. Hosted by the charming and charismatic Andy (Wil Wheaton), the ta...

Where to Watch

Top Cast

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Critic Reviews

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Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 7 Critic Reviews
61
57% Positive
4 Reviews
43% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews

Critic Reviews

 View All
Metascore
Generally Favorable Based on 7 Critic Reviews
61
57% Positive
4 Reviews
43% Mixed
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews

  • All Reviews
  • Positive Reviews
  • Mixed Reviews
  • Negative Reviews
88
Sep 11, 2020
For all the nostalgia that comes with seeing David pop in a VHS tape, the movie’s time period allows Stevenson to focus our attention on the horror emitting from just one screen.
By Nick Allen FULL REVIEW
80
Sep 17, 2020
Wheaton is the film’s first exceptional element. The second is Stevenson’s restraint.
By Andrew Crump FULL REVIEW
70
Sep 12, 2020
Wil Wheaton is the true star of this film. His creepy therapist/creepy children’s TV show host take on his character was exactly what Rent-A-Pal needed.
FULL REVIEW
70
Sep 11, 2020
What makes the film work as well as it does, at least up to a point, are the perfectly calibrated performances. Folkins is superb as the socially maladroit Andy, making his character sympathetic in his genuine satisfaction in being a caretaker despite the personal toll it enacts. And Wheaton, whose entire performance consists of sitting in a chair and talking directly to the camera, uses his innate likeability to at first disarming and then chillingly creepy effect.
By Frank Scheck FULL REVIEW
58
Sep 9, 2020
Rent-A-Pal goes full-tilt mayhem in its final act, shattering its carefully calibrated dread in a race to make an already belabored point: that technological advancements are to be questioned, and there is no substitute for human connection.
By Danette Chavez FULL REVIEW
50
Sep 10, 2020
Eventually the movie paints itself into a corner then sinks into grisly sludge. Stevenson’s technical skill can’t save him from a trite worldview.
By Glenn Kenny FULL REVIEW
42
Sep 12, 2020
As the film becomes more of a conventional horror flick, it also leaves unexplored the darker realities of these contemporary fears for easier, gorier thrills.
By Asher Luberto FULL REVIEW

User Reviews

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User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 6 User Ratings
6.8
50% Positive
3 Ratings
33% Mixed
2 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating

User Reviews

 View All
User Score
Generally Favorable Based on 6 User Ratings
6.8
50% Positive
3 Ratings
33% Mixed
2 Ratings
17% Negative
1 Rating

There are no user reviews yet. Be the first to add a review.

Details

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Production Company Pretty People Pictures
Release Date Sep 11, 2020
Duration 1 h 48 m
Rating Unrated
Genres
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Awards

Grimmfest
• 2 Wins & 2 Nominations
Sunset Film Circle Awards
• 2 Nominations
Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival
• 1 Nomination

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