Dir. Sam & Max Eggers | Streaming on Prime | Rating: 4/5

I’ve had my eye on The Front Room since I caught the trailer a few months ago. Horror that is unafraid to tackle contemporary race conversations is critical to the genre and I make a point to consume as much of it as possible. The Front Room delivers a standout subgenre blending 2024 horror release. 

What makes The Front Room such an interesting release is its ability to move between subgenres, and ultimately change the viewing experience. We see evidence of maternal, religious, and psychological horror at play, with a heaping dose of dark comedy. To some this may seem like the film is confused, but I feel that this speaks to the multifaceted way our main character is forced to face the world. 

The audience is introduced to Belinda as a pregnant woman, coping with persistent racial and gender microaggressions, along with trauma. At the start of the film, she continues to face these challenges with positivity until the strain of her situation wears her down. Her counterpart in the film, her mother-in-law Solange, appears to be a caricature of an aging Southern evangelical but soon, we begin to see she is something much darker. 

Solange becomes an all encompassing force on Belinda’s life, symbolizing a sinister foil of her future of being a mother. Solange’s presence can be heard, seen, or felt in every scene from her first appearance to the credits. The horror is in her character’s physicality as she weaponizes her aging body to torment Belinda. 

The Front Room is intriguing, disgusting, and insanely creative. Other reviewers have stated that the scares are more “off putting than frightening” and the counter I would give is – that’s the point. Aging and motherhood aren’t always beautiful and haunting, more often than not that they are disgustingly human. Rich with symbolism of age, gender, motherhood, and race, you could look at this film from a different angle on every watch and find something else to discuss. 

Know Before You Watch: Features death, “gross out” horror.