So often these days major horror films are given vast amounts of attention, spurred on by critics who rarely see horror films and are stunned by what they see. But for fans of horror most of those films are nowhere near the terrifying experience or enjoyable night at the movies that these critics think they are. True horror fans find the movies that stir them more on the fringes than in the mainstream press reviews. Those films are often small on budget and huge on fright, often far more interesting and original than those major releases. Like THE CLEANING LADY.
Alice (Alexis Kendra) is a young woman on her own with an addiction to love. Not intimacy or sex but love. She currently finds herself in an affair with a married man who continues to promise he will leave his wife for her one day. Attending group therapy for her addiction complete with a sponsor she swears off the relationship and plans to stick to her no contact promise. Working out of her home as a high end and in demand beautician Alice can afford to live well and on her own. She has no monetary need for Michael, the man she's drawn to.
When her drain clogs Alice contacts her landlord about the problem. One day she comes home to find Shelly (Rachel Alig), a severely burn scarred young woman, taking care of the problem. Needing someone to clean her apartment she offers to pay Shelly in cash to avoid the landlord knowing to do so and Shelly accepts. From this an infatuation develops.
We already know something is up with Shelly having watched her in the opening moments of the film toss three live rats into a blender before serving them up to someone hidden in a trailer. But none of that is brought up until later in the film. For now she's content to find a sort of friendship with Alice. Alice is just being kind to someone less fortunate but Shelly thinks of it as something more.
Things become even stranger when one night Shelly creeps in and chloroforms Alice. While out she makes a mold of Alice' face and then replicates it to create a latex mask that she wears when on her own, all without Alice having knowledge of what took place. Soaking in Alice' tub when she's away, dressing in her clothes, this brings to mind films like SINGLE WHITE FEMALE with a bit of a twist.
As things progress we learn Shelly's back story. Perhaps with one of the worst mothers in history we watch as her mother pimps her out at a young age. We see the problems the two face. And eventually we learn how Shelly was scarred. But the scars she has inside rival those on the surface and just how those will affect what takes place makes for the fright found in this film.
Well shot, well directed, well written and performed by actresses who may not be what Hollywood considers A-listers but who should be, this movie will hold your interest from start to finish. It takes the time to develop the story that is involved here, both from the viewpoint of Alice and her needs and those of Shelly and hers. The combining of these stories that wrap around one another until the final story becomes one is will done.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I put this one in to watch. After viewing it and while I enjoyed it I wasn't even sure if I'd ever watch it again. But the more time that passes since that first viewing the more I think I will. For me it was that good. Repeat viewings are something that help me judge how good a movie is. So take my word on it, this one is a solid horror film that will have you guessing and watching from start to finish.
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