The Guard Room is an indie horror film that blends elements of a murder mystery, supernatural horror, and slasher. Directed and written by Michael Thordarson (Sophie and the Serial Killers), this may be light on thrills but I really enjoyed the cyclical nature of the pacing.
Olga Molina (Gone with the Dead, Bye Bye Kitty) stars as Hilda; a woman who has recently gotten a job as an overnight security guard in an isolated warehouse district. She is soon brought up to speed by long time guard, Lucas (Michael Fredianelli - Bears on a Ship, Ride Scare: the Beginning), he tells her that apart from homeless people wandering onto the site, there isn't much to worry about. After a few nights on the job, Hilda learns that the security guard she replaced was actually found dead on the job, his death remaining a mystery as to whether it was a murder or accidental. This alarms her, making her angry that no one had thought to mention that to her when she got the job. She decides she is going to look into this unexplained death, for her own peace of mind more than anything else.
Being out of work myself at the moment, I immediately took a shine to Hilda, identifying with her needing a job to earn money. She is one of the more relatable and down to earth protagonists in recent memory. I liked how basic she was, making it clear she is working for money, and never going too above and beyond what is expected of her. This is best displayed in an early montage sequence that mixes scenes of her dancing like a loon to music in the guard room, to scenes of her out on patrol around the warehouses. She was in no means a perfect protagonist, there was some odd humour to her, and the running joke of her referring to homeless people as 'unhoused' and then whoever she is speaking to getting confused about what she means soon wore out its welcome.
Lucas was another great character, almost the stand-out one here. His indifference to his job, and his general attitude made him interesting to watch, especially liking the brief interactions between him and Hilda.
The story reminded me ever so slightly of Five Nights at Freddy's, with odd events escalating as the nights go on. Hilda's need to earn money is a perfectly fine reason for her not leaving at the first sign of trouble, and the escalation is so slight that it makes sense she sticks around for the most part. I loved the feel of the film constantly switching between the night shift scenes, and the ones set after the protagonist has finished her shift and returned home with fast food in hand. This gave a neat structure to the unfolding events, though it should be mentioned the horror here is slight with a small body count and not many moments of high peril. Many of these perilous scenes involve her interactions with the random strangers who have ended up in the warehouse district. From people who threaten her, to a recurring masked maniac armed with an axe(!), as well as repeated glimpses of a sad looking woman wearing a white dress (Sherill Quinn - Bears on a Ship). That later character has the suggestion of the supernatural to her, though the melding of grounded murder mystery and ghostly goings on was always abrasive here, the two styles never neatly fitting together.
The conclusion was ok, but felt a bit loose, like elements hadn't been satisfactory explained by the time of the end credits. This conclusion did have its moments though, and I liked the path the protagonist was led on.
The Guard Room was a neat indie film that despite a low level of horror, and some weak supernatural elements, remained entertaining due to interesting characters, great pacing, and somewhat relatable situations. The Guard Room is due to be released via Magical Hammer Productions.
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