He talks to you. He listens to you. He understands you. He’s your Rent-A-Pal. In this thriller 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 tape offers him much-needed company, compassion, and friendship. But Andy’s friendship comes at a cost, and David desperately struggles to afford the price of admission.
For in-depth thoughts on Rent-A-Pal, please see my colleague Dom Fisher’s review from its original theatrical release here.
Video Quality
The film debuts on Blu-Ray courtesy of Scream Factory with a pretty stellar 1080p presentation in its original aspect ratio that captures the film well. The movie itself has a shifting color palette that is highly dependent on the location, and there is a great amount of detail and clarity throughout the entire presentation. The fine detail that is detectable on faces is quite remarkable. Roaming shots remain stable and avoid any blurring or banding. For a movie that often relies on darkness to build tension, it is important to have deep black levels, which this thankfully does. Objects hold up very well in the shadows and retain their depth. The VHS portions of the film remain true to the intended visual aesthetic. There is not much in the way of damage, black crush or digital noise detectable in this transfer. This is an impressive transfer from Scream Factory that allows this brand new film to thrive at a high bit rate and deliver a problem-free viewing experience.
Audio Quality
Rent-A-Pal comes to Blu-Ray with an outstanding DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track. The movie is mostly on the quiet side with an unsettling delineation between the real world and the VHS reality. The low end of the track is especially active during moments where the limits of reality are being pushed. The dialogue and sound effects are appropriately balanced with the electronic score where nothing gets lost in the track. Surround channels get some nice activity in some of the bustling environments, such as the roller rink. The directionality of this track is on point with sounds coming from all of the appropriate places. This track is quite powerful, and will be appreciated by fans who pick up this disc.
Special Features
- The Making of Rent-A-Pal: A wonderfully expansive hour-long making-of piece that delves into the production of the film from the first day on set to the last. You are given full access by the creative team to the various crew members and filming locations that reveals many great insights into the story. This was an unexpected treat.
- Hi, I’m Andy!: A 22-minute piece that allows you to spend uninterrupted time with your new friend, Andy.
- Meet Your Matches!: A four-minute collection of the tapes you see within the film from the women looking for a connection.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here which effectively sets up the film.
Final Thoughts
Rent-A-Pal is a wild and distressing ride that taps into many of the anxieties of the current day despite taking place in the past. The level of talent both behind the scenes and in front of the camera is truly off the charts. It is one of the most unsettling films to come out in the past year. Scream Factory has provided a Blu-Ray with a wonderful A/V presentation and a stellar assortment of special features. If you are looking for a film to get under your skin, this one will more than do the trick. Recommended
Rent-A-Pal is currently available to own on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Scream Factory has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
