The Tenants

In a near-future dystopian Seoul, where the city is divided into numbered districts and living costs have skyrocketed, white-collar worker Shin-dong is on the verge of eviction. Struggling to make ends meet, he discovers a loophole that could save him: by renting out part of his home, he complicates the legal process, making it difficult for his landlord to kick him out. He reluctantly takes in a peculiar newlywed couple who insist on living in his bathroom. At first, this seems like a clever solution, but it quickly turns into a nightmare as the couple’s bizarre and unsettling behaviour pushes Shin-dong to the edge.

The tenants’ strange habits—constant smiling, nocturnal outings, and frantic breathing exercises in the bathroom—create an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia in Shin-dong’s life. Though they don’t initially seem dangerous, their eerie presence and Shin-dong’s inability to escape due to legal entanglements heighten the tension. The situation spirals further when the couple rents out part of the home to a mysterious third tenant, who resides in a hatch in the bathroom ceiling. With its absurd, Kafkaesque narrative, The Tenants becomes a dark commentary on the failures of capitalism, where process and paperwork trump common sense, and the true horror lies in Shin-dong’s inability to regain control of his own home.

Director: Eun-kyoung Yoon, Country: South Korea, Genre: Sci-Fi/Thriller/Black Comedy, Runtime: 89m, Year: 2023