Christopher Lee returns to Hammer, and the critics aren't any surer than they used to be back in the golden days...

Once extensively working for Hammer, Christopher Lee reunites with his dear old friend after a 34 year separation and the production company's 2008 relaunch. The film that's lured Lee back to the fold firmly fits with Hammer's trademark genre – horror. The Resident is a curious project, combining Hilary Swank as lead and executive producer with Finnish TV director Antti Jokinen, who notably directed the opening segment of 2007's Eurovision Song Contest.

A very preppy-looking Swank plays surgeon Juliet, whose boyfriend cheats on her after she moves especially to New York to be near him. Still hung up on the love of her life and scarred by him betraying her in the bed they shared, Juliet seeks her own apartment in an attempt to rebuild her life. After being shown around some seriously unappealing box-rooms, she stumbles across her dream apartment and too-good-to-be-true landlord, Max (Jeffery Dean Morgan). Reasonably priced and huge, the only drawbacks the apartment seems to have are the loud rumble of a nearby train line, the no-pets policy and poor phone reception.

Meaningful eye contact between Max and his grandfather, August (Christopher Lee) are the only indication we're given that something's not quite right. Slick comic book style opening credits introduce what at first appears to be a Sin City world. As the film progresses, eerie clanking noises and hidden passages surrounding Juliet's apartment complement the misleading seedy first impression we're given.

Inside these walls an unknown Peeping Tom has perfectly constructed his own adventure playground with regularly placed subtle spy holes and a two-way mirror to provide all-flat coverage. Giving insight into the internal workings of the building, this shadowy figure frames Juliet's body and does a fair bit of finger sucking while she sleeps, is sexually charged by using her toothbrush, savours the smell of her clothes and masturbates in her bath tub while she's at work.

Even if you've avoided the trailer, a rewound segment in The Resident reveals early on the identity of Juliet's predator. One of the strengths of the film is its ability to keep us interested, even after revealing who we should be afraid of. By removing this sense of mystery, The Resident keeps us guessing how a resolution will be found and makes the baddie all the more menacing.

Visually playful, with effective use of sped-up footage and plenty of aerial city shots, The Resident is unfortunately victim to some horror clichés. Juliet's pursuer taunts “there's nowhere for you to go” while Swank bumbles around playing the silly female victim. There are far too many ridiculous resurrections and the to-the-point-ending is satisfying in its neatness but irritating in its inability to fully wrap up the plot premise. Flicker-shots reveal that Max's parents died when he was a child and August mockingly telling him he's a “weak man” just like his “jealous and perverted” father suggest an interesting if under-explored family dynamic.

Although uncomfortable viewing throughout, after an original start The Resident becomes a tad predictable and hurriedly skates over what could have been a fascinating backstory, failing to fully utilise the potential its strong cast offer.

Director: Antti Jokinen
Writer: Antti Jokinen, Robert Orr
Running Time: 91mins
Certificate: 15
Starring: Hilary Swank, Jeffery Dean Morgan, Christopher Lee, Lee Pace

The Resident opens in the UK on March 11th

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