The Ones Below (2016)

I'm not naming actors by name. You have the couple expecting a child and the couple who lose one in the apartment below. Female below is dominated by an older man, who's full of himself to the point of nausea, who goes berserk after wife falls down steps after dinner "party". Said fall blamed on couple expecting's cat but truth is female below is freaking out due to dominants behavior, and try's to hurry out due to hiding wine consumption. Those below lose child. But the words yelled by dominating male WOULD INSURE NO FURTHER CONTACT WITH THOSE BELOW. But these are times when one must be positive regardless of behavior. Which leads to an unbelievable acquiescence by the couple expecting for these two dysfunctional and possible dangerous people below to be intertwined with them to the point of letting the woman below to "watch" baby of couple expecting, essentially a complete stranger, for hours on end. There's enough red flags yet father goes along with the ones below machinations even after mother gets wise....These are times when altruism is the norm. Where the phrase "don't be a hater" originated. The result is earned. Disturbing ending.

A slow paced but intense thriller-drama. Couple in an apartment expecting their first child.Downstairs neighbors are also awaiting a new arrival. But something is definitely not right when a tragic accident means only one couple will be blessed with a child.... Despite some plot discrepancies there is plenty of good acting and engrossing tension to keep this movie interesting to the climax. 6 and a half rounded up: 7/10.

"The Ones Below" is a decent enough little chamber piece on the perils of parenting, particularly if you suspect the neighbors downstairs covet your new-born baby. It marks the directorial debut of writer David Farr, (he wrote "The Night Manager" for television), and it's nicely done but in the end it's just too unpleasant to be entertaining. Basically a four-hander and well played by Clemence Poesy as the new mother convinced her neighbors are up to no good and by David Morrissey and Laura Birn as the neighbors, (personally I would have moved out five minutes after they moved in). It's let down only by Stephen Campbell Moore as Poesy's partner. Considering his outing in a similar role in the nasty little horror picture "The Children" some years back I would suggest Mr Campbell Moore get the snip sooner rather than later.

You need a good level of patience to get through this film and it can be incredibly temping to switch off. The first half of the film is painfully slow and any sort of plot developments take an eternity to arrive. For a thriller, it takes a while to do much thrilling.The film is, however, very eerie and menacing, and teases us with 'clues' that something is not quite right. As it draws to a close, the pace picks up and the film comes into its own, with a disturbing and extremely dark ending.Overall, whilst it takes a while to get going, the viewer is rewarded with an absorbing storyline that keeps you guessing until the end.