The Rental | 2020 | R | – 5.6.10

Why is “The Rental” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence, language throughout, drug use and some sexuality.” Our evaluation includes a sex scene that we see replayed on video with partial nudity, and a few kissing scenes and cleavage revealing outfits; several scenes of brutal murders using a hammer, a smothering death, a body thrown over a cliff, a beating of a man to unconsciousness, the disappearance of a dog, and over 55 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Two couples get away from a hectic week at work by renting a beautiful oceanfront home, and looking forward to relaxing. However, before they can really settle in, they begin to suspect that someone might be watching them. With Dan Stevens, Alison Brie, Sheila Vand, Jeremy Allen White, Toby Huss, Connie Wellman and Chunk. Directed by Dave Franco. [Running Time: 1:28]

The Rental SEX/NUDITY 5

 – We see a recording of a married man and a woman having sex in a shower (we see her bare back and shoulders and they both moan as he thrusts). A woman is shown in the shower (her bare shoulders are seen), and a man enters the shower with her and they kiss (sex is implied). A married man and a woman sitting in a hot tub kiss passionately until they are interrupted by a barking dog and the woman leaves.
► A man and a woman lie in bed clothed and they kiss until the scene ends. A man and a woman kiss and hug in several scenes. A man kisses a woman’s head in a few scenes. Two couples hug and walk on a beach. A husband lies in bed and his wife talks to him from the bathroom before joining him in bed (they are both clothed). A woman hugs a man and tells him, “I’m turned on by your mess,” when he says he needs to shower. Two men and a woman dance together after taking a drug.
► A man and woman talk about their relationship with another man and another woman and the other people’s business relationship in a few scenes. A man talks to a woman about her husband’s previous relationships and she becomes upset.
► A woman wears a tank top that reveals nipples through the fabric. A man’s pants are slung low and we see his buttock cleavage when he bends over; a woman pantomimes licking the man and putting her face in the cleavage (he does not see this). A woman wears a camisole that reveals cleavage. A woman is shown wearing a bikini and we see cleavage, bare abdomen and legs. A man in a hot tub is shown bare-chested. Women wear low-cut tops that reveal cleavage in several scenes throughout the movie. We see a video of a person sitting on a toilet with a laptop and we see bare knees and lower legs.

The Rental VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – A man opens a closet door and someone inside hits him in the head with a hammer; he then hits him again with the hammer claw (we see a hole in his head, and a lot of blood pouring out of the wound and pooling on the floor). A man sees a cellphone lit in dark woods and follows it until he trips over a body (we see a bloody head wound); he is struck in the head by someone in the shadows and then struck a few more times while lying on the ground (we hear crunching and we see him dead later with a bloody head). A woman runs out of a house and a man chases her and grabs her; she stabs him in the face (we see the implement sticking out of his cheek with no blood visible), she falls down a flight of stairs and runs through thick fog and woods chased by the man and she runs into a tree and falls down (we do not see injuries).
► A man and woman argue and the man threatens to call the police; they struggle over the phone and the man shoves the woman out of the way as another man enters the room and pushes the first man into a soaking tub where he then punches him several times in the face (we see him unconscious and with a bloody head and face). A woman runs in the dark and falls over a cliff to her death. A gloved hand covers the nose and mouth of a man and we see his foot twitch briefly before he falls still and dies. A body is thrown over a cliff and we see it lying on a boulder where rocks are thrown at if trying to force it to fall into the ocean (a rock hits the body in the head and we hear a thud and see a dent in the head later).
► A man charges out of the shadows in an apartment toward a sleeping person and the scene ends (we presume that he killed the person). Two men wrestle on the floor and one pins the other and holds the other around the neck calling for him to tap out (he does eventually and we see no injuries). A man smacks another man on the head. A woman yells at a man and pounds on his chest in frustration before storming out of the room. A man climbs down a sheer cliff wall to reach a body and slips, falls on the body and the body is rolled into the ocean.
► A woman in a car speeds on a dirt road until a tire blows out and she crashes into a tree (she is uninjured). A woman is startled by someone at the window of her car when she is stopped on a dark road (the scene ends). A man finds a stopped car on a dark road and sees shattered glass in the driver’s seat. We see movement in the woods and it seems as though someone is watching and following a man and a woman. Showers in a house turn on by themselves and a woman follows from one bathroom to another trying to figure out what’s going on. A man calls for his dog and we see that the dog’s leash has been cut and the dog is nowhere around. A woman sees what she thinks is a camera in a showerhead and calls for a man to come to see it; they find the same thing in other showerheads in the house and she wants to call the police but the man dissuades her. A man explores under a house and finds a locked door that he thinks is suspicious. A woman becomes annoyed when her boyfriend falls asleep on the sofa after drinking too much. A man and a woman seem listless and hungover after a night of drinking and taking a drug.
► A woman finds a video of her husband having sex with another woman (please see the Sex/Nudity category for more details). A man confronts a woman about a text and recording of her and his brother and they argue; the man storms away in a rage looking for his brother and he calls out, “I will kill you.” Three people plan what to do with a dead man’s body and concoct a story about how he died. A woman says, “I will [F-word deleted] kill him.” A man tells a woman, “I’m not gonna rat you out.” A woman confronts a man about declining her reservation and he denies any involvement. A woman complains that a reservation that she submitted was declined and that she suspects it is because of racism since a man with her group of friends submitted a reservation request moments after her and he was confirmed. A man remarks to a woman in a manner that she understands as being racist. We hear that a man was in jail for beating up another man outside a frat house.
► A woman picks at a pimple on a man’s back and calls it “juicy” (we do not see anything). We see a video of a person sitting on a toilet with a laptop and we see bare knees and lower legs. Eerie music plays with the introduction and opening credits.

The Rental LANGUAGE 10

 – About 56 F-words and derivatives, 3 sexual references, 17 scatological terms, 2 anatomical terms, 5 mild obscenities, name-calling (racist, pervert, weird, insane, peeping Tom, less weird, player, baby, crazy, intense, creepy, nerdiest, annoyed), exclamations (groovy, wow, crazy, hey), 9 religious exclamations (e.g. Oh My God, Jesus, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

The Rental SUBSTANCE USE

 – A woman brings out a bag of what we are told is “ecstasy” and we understand that three people take some, a woman asks, “where’s the molly” and takes some of the drug. Four people drink wine with a meal, a man says that he spent the day on his couch with his bottle, two men drink from bottles of beer, a woman holds a glass of wine and dances alone after having taken a drug, and a woman asks a man why he drank so much.

The Rental DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Business partners, brothers, serial infidelity, murder, serial murder, racism, discrimination, relationships, stalking, voyeurism.

The Rental MESSAGE

 – Murderers can be anywhere.