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The Roommate

Play trailer Poster for The Roommate PG-13 Released Feb 4, 2011 1h 33m Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
3% Tomatometer 88 Reviews 27% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
When Sara (Minka Kelly), a young design student from Iowa, arrives for college in Los Angeles, she is eager to fit in and get to know the big city. Her wealthy roommate, Rebecca (Leighton Meester), is more than eager to take Sara under her wing and show her the ropes. The two become close, but when Sara begins to branch out and make more friends on campus, Rebecca becomes resentful. Alarmed, Sara moves in with her new boyfriend, causing Rebecca's behavior to take a violent turn.
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The Roommate

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Critics Consensus

Devoid of chills, thrills, or even cheap titillation, The Roommate isn't even bad enough to be good.

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Critics Reviews

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Philip French Guardian Christiansen's witless, badly acted thriller is a throwback to the early 1990s. Apr 10, 2011 Full Review Robbie Collin News of the World Bunk. Rated: 2/5 Apr 9, 2011 Full Review Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard A disaster from start to finish. Rated: 1/5 Apr 8, 2011 Full Review Trace Thurman Horror Queers Podcast It's just so damn boring. Rated: 2/5 Jan 30, 2024 Full Review Joe Lipsett Horror Queers Podcast A disappointing re-tread of Single White Female that pulls its narrative punches and wastes its talented "teen" cast. Leighton Meester deserved better; let her cut loose! Rated: 2/5 Jan 25, 2024 Full Review Brian Eggert Deep Focus Review The movie was made for tame crowds out for safe chills and a predictable outcome, and that level of banality is exactly what’s delivered. Rated: 1/4 Jul 31, 2023 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Ana B I shouted at the TV 90% of the time and was on the edge of my seat while watching it. I almost jumped, pulled my own hair and got extremely anxious while watching this. I saw some reviews saying they think this movie is boring but I think it's the extreme opposite! If you prefer to be scared of actual real common people instead of monsters, the undead or some weird talking doll, then this movie is for you. Maybe it's because I just started watching it mindlessly without knowing the title (it was playing on a random tv channel) and I didn't know it was a thriller, so it became way more interesting to watch because I couldn't tell the roommate was an important character until she started acting weird and I shouted at the television "she's a weirdo!" and "rude!" everytime she did something harmful. I became really anxious because I couldn't figure out her intentions towards the protagonist until later and I was always scared she'd harm somebody, all of the time. There are some thirst traps through the movie, to keep you interested I guess...? But considering it's a 2011 movie I guess it's okay. I usually don't really like any of that, but the lesbian flirting was actually pretty charming. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/11/25 Full Review Ralph R The Roommate is a psychological thriller that starts with some promise but quickly slips into familiar territory. The setup is intriguing, with Leighton Meester delivering a solid performance that brings just enough edge to keep things mildly interesting. Unfortunately, the movie doesn't take any risks and sticks too closely to the formula, making the plot feel predictable and the suspense more muted than it should be. The pacing doesn't help either; the first half feels like it's dragging, and if you're not fully invested, you might find your attention wandering. Visually, the movie looks polished, and the college setting feels realistic, but the story lacks depth. While it's watchable, especially if you're just looking for a casual late-night movie, it doesn't do much to stand out in its genre. It's not a bad movie, it's just a forgettable one. If you're up for something light and don't mind a few thriller clichés, it might still be worth a shot. Otherwise, it's the kind of movie you'll struggle to stay awake through, literally. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 01/09/25 Full Review Liam D An PG-13 horror movie so generic and dull that even Blumhouse would reject. Billy Zane (The New Batman Adventures, The Silence of the Hams) couldn’t save it with his awesome hammy acting Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 11/30/24 Full Review Roxy H Very cool concept and I was very excited about the cast. But the writing and execution was very poor. The cast deserved more. Rated 1 out of 5 stars 11/20/24 Full Review Wolfgang G The Roommate ist ein Psychothriller des Regisseurs Christian E. Christiansen… Die niedliche Sara beginnt ihr erstes Semester an der Uni voller Vorfreude. Alles entwickelt sich bestens, ihre neue Mitbewohnerin Rebecca wird schnell zu ihrer besten Freundin… Das Drehbuch gleicht einem durchschnittlichen, spannungsgeladenen Nervenkitzel… ja ein langatmiger und vorhersehbarer Psychothriller ohne Schrecken… Kurz gesagt, drei Sterne… Rated 3 out of 5 stars 10/25/23 Full Review Luis Otavio F This is anything but cool. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 12/06/22 Full Review Read all reviews
The Roommate

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis When Sara (Minka Kelly), a young design student from Iowa, arrives for college in Los Angeles, she is eager to fit in and get to know the big city. Her wealthy roommate, Rebecca (Leighton Meester), is more than eager to take Sara under her wing and show her the ropes. The two become close, but when Sara begins to branch out and make more friends on campus, Rebecca becomes resentful. Alarmed, Sara moves in with her new boyfriend, causing Rebecca's behavior to take a violent turn.
Director
Christian E. Christiansen
Producer
Doug Davison, Roy Lee
Screenwriter
Sonny Mallhi
Distributor
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Production Co
Vertigo
Rating
PG-13 (Some Language|Sexual Content|Teen Partying|Violence and Menace)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 4, 2011, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 16, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA)
$37.3M
Runtime
1h 33m
Sound Mix
SDDS, Dolby Digital, DTS
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