Directed by Philip Koch, the newest thriller mystery on Netflix certainly does a great job at evolving what was once called the locked-room suspense subgenre.Brickdecides to ditch the smallest of spaces though and give us an entire apartment building as our main setting. Following a couple — Tim and Olivia — who discover that all the openings of their apartment are now covered by a mysterious (and seemingly indestructible) black wall, they soon come to find out that this mysterious covering is also around the outside of their neighbor’s home, the apartment downstairs, and everywhere else.
Actors Matthias Schweighöfer and Ruby O. Fee do a great job of playing characters whobalance paranoia about their current situationalong with an underlying tension about the baby they lost many years ago. Besides the technological aspect and the cast of varied side characters, this streaming platform exclusive is definitely an interesting look into what happens when people are too close to danger for too long: psyches start to collapse and some people go outright mad. WhileBrickmight have just gone a bit too overboard with the explicit violence, a classicAlfred Hitchcockmovie, on the other hand, does this type of horror just right. It’s probably not the first film that just popped into your mind either.
‘Brick’ Is Possible Because of Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘Rope’
Starting withLifeboatin 1944 and ending off withDial M For Murderten years later, these limited setting features directed by Hitchcock really amplified oncoming dread by placingthe ever-rising anxiety in an enclosed space. Arguably, the most underrated example of this within his catalog was 1948’sRope.
UnlikeBrick, this classic psychological film has your heart palpating from the very first scene. Two young college intellectuals have physically strangled their former classmate and hid his body in a chest within the apartment. This was no temporary insanity though, more like a twisted exercise in adrenaline and exhilaration. John Dall’s Brandon Shaw is elated over the completion of the murder. On the other hand, his friend Phillip Morgan (Farley Granger) is instantly overridden with guilt, doubt and so many other feelings. Brandon has also arranged for a dinner party to occur with guests that were related to the deceased, David Kentley. This intimate gathering is purposefully held right around the chest where David’s body is lying in wait. None of the guests know this.
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While the uneasy foil between the two main characters is always a point of on-screen contention, James Stewart’s Rupert Cadell is surprisingly the one person that does get right underneath Brandon’s skin almost instantly. If you’ve seenBrick, picture the intimidating aura of Murathan Muslu’s Yuri, but as a prim and proper protagonist with the charm and confidence to match. He was actually their prep school housemaster, and hequickly surmises that something isn’t right. This unique character slowly picks every little piece of Brandon’s haphazard dinner party apart until all of his lies collapse right on the parlor floor. With the guests leaving, the finale seems to be a satisfying ending for the murder junkies. That is, until Rupert comes back for his cigarette case.
‘Rope’ Takes Advantage of the Small Setting
What makes Alfred Hitchcock’sRopea great companion piece toBrickis how the film both minimalizes its limited setting but raises the stakes at the same time. Instead of a hazard posed by nanotechnology (which separates people from essential resources), the 1948 film not only has all these people (and the audience) in a much more crammed space but also unwillingly in the presence of deranged lunacy.
Brandon really thinks that he, Phillip, and a few others should be ranked higher as human beings and thus kill whenever they see fit. Stewart is a master at wielding morality onscreen. Dall and Granger bring forth a masterful duo, showing the dual sidesof man and monster. Joan Chandler’s Janet Walker is the romantic relief, bringing forth a bit of uninterrupted social zest to the whole thing. David’s parents show even more of the opposite, sprouting conservatism and carefully stepping into Brandon’s grim sophistication.
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Hitchcock’s way of having the viewer believe thatRopeis one single camera shot also brilliantly elevates this terrifying monster (disguised as a person). The master of suspense creates a type of movie maze by slithering the camera through everythingand employing an extreme zoom into inanimate objectswhen he needs to cut away. This is almost unnoticeable when casually watching the movie. While modern-setBrickdoes succeed at character development by using quick, eye-opening flashbacks, it doesn’t take advantage of the isolated theme as much as it should. But alas, both movies are well in their own right. We might just have to worry about technology more than our fellow human beings in the future.
