Customer Reviews

You Belong to Me

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

An excellent indy Hitchcock-ian thriller with a shocker ending. Nicely produced and expertly directed. That the main character,Jeffery,(the charming Daniel Sauli) is gay is secondary to the plot. Jeffrey,a NYC architect, becomes infatuated with his sexy one night stand and comes upon him sometime after their encounter while out walking his dog, Max. He follows Ren back to his apartment building and there finds a notice for an empty apartment. Enter the landlady/owner, Gladys, played by the excellent and ever-so-creepy Patti D'Arbanville,she insists upon showing him the apartment, He decides to take it and thus begins the real plot. To say more would spoil the story,suffice to say this is a movie that you'll enjoy a great deal if you are fond of this genre.

As in Alfred Hitchcock's films, the suspense in Sam Zalusky's "You Belong to Me" stems from the psychological complexity of the characters. There are no black and white heroes and villains here but complex human beings whose motivations and emotions ring true throughout the film, thanks to both the quality of the screenplay and the quality of the cast, especially the inspired Patti D'Arbanville. The real source of horror in "You Belong to Me" is how in our increasingly alienating society, people's search for connection with each other can go horribly wrong. And in this film, when things do go wrong, we shudder not just with fear but with recognition of our own human foibles.

"You Belong to Me" is a super Hitchcockian thriller from director Sam Zalutsky. Jeffrey (Daniel Sauli) is a young gay architect who becomes obsessed with Rene (Julien Lucas) a handsome one night stand who rebuffs his attempts to continue their relationship. So obsessed is he, that Jeffrey follows Rene and, discovering where he lives, impulsively decides to rent an apartment in the same building, owned by landlady Gladys (Patti D'Arbanville).

Once he moves in he finds himself becoming in turn the object of obsession of the strange landlady. Mysteries abound in the building. Why does Gladys take such an interest in her new tenant? Why did the former tenant of his apartment (who also happened to be named Jeffrey) disappear so suddenly, leaving his belongings behind? Who is the creepy handyman who peers through the apartment windows? And most of all, what are the strange groans coming from the apartment below Jeffrey's?

As our hero tries to unravel the mysteries he finds himself plunged into a terrifying nightmare which threatens his sanity and his very life.

Sometimes funny, often down right frightening, the movie spins along at a rapid pace, giving the viewer little time to pause and catch his breath. The ending sequences are superb.

The standout performance belongs to D'Arbanville, who is the epitome of creepiness. Sauli is fine as Jeffrey. The only weak performance (and the weakest link in the whole movie) is given by Lucas, whose bland character makes it difficult to appreciate Jeffrey's obsession.

Is the story improbable? Absolutely! But then, the stories behind most thrillers are. These things, after all, don't happen to people everyday. If the viewer can suspend disbelief and just go along for the ride, he will be rewarded with 82 minutes of enjoyable suspense!

A horror "Mum and Dad"-type movie with happy ending for kidnapped same gender attracted Jeffrey and Afro-American girl looking after him a bit.

"You Belong to Me" is a surprisingly well-done thriller set in the Big Apple. An architect, Jeffrey (Daniel Saul) is enamored of his Gallic one-night stand Rene. The opening scene is a sizzling scene between Jeffrey and his lover. Interestingly,once the movie gets going, the homoeroticism is sidelined while the plot and acting take center stage. Obsessed with Rene, Jeffrey moves to a new apartment run by Gladys (Patti D'Arbanville) She is motherly towards him,and at first seems to have a romantic interest him. She also has a deaf-mute lug of a lover, Stuart.

"You Belong to Me" shows Jeffrey being slowly imprisoned by his obsession. He thinks he hears moans beneath his floor, and tears it apart. He sneaks into Gladys' apartment--and finds himself a prisoner. The movie is,in a sense,a tribute to thrillers like "Rear Window" and "Misery." It's subtly terrifying especially for us claustrophobes. There's plenty of suspense-as well metaphor. It represents homophobia and heteronormativity. Don't miss! The twist ending manages to be violent,poignant--and excellent! This should belong to you!

"Variety" magazine hailed Sam Zalutsky's brief 82 minute thriller as "A Gay Spin on...Polanski's "The Tenant" and "Rosemary's Baby." HARDLY!!!! Talk about false advertising!!!! The movie has nothing to do with being gay... except for the fact that the main character Jeffrey (Daniel Sauli) is gay and smitten with his one night stand Rene, who barely acknowledges him. Jeffrey, along with his trusty dog Max, moves into Rene's apartment building. So you might think the film will be about Jeffrey's obsession with Rene; but Rene is less than secondary to the plot. Jeffrey hears strange moaning coming from beneath the floor boards in his new apartment. Landlady Gladys (Patti D'Arbanville) turns out to be the obsessed one, but calling the film "Psychotic Landlady" would have been too obvious. The film does achieve some degree of claustraphobic tension, but it all boils down to a case of "been there, seen this" and I've seen this done much better. I did care if the dog Max survives all the "psycho inmates are running the asylum" goings-on, though. But the human characters are rather dull and one-note.