Hammer Films is coming back on us with a vengeance tonight, folks–seems that they’ve started their comeback tour, and we’re getting a look at the results with Resident. It literally just came out, folks, and it’s going to be impressive.

Resident follows a doctor who just got separated from her husband. And she thinks she’s found the perfect apartment in which to get separated. It’s a beauty, with big, airy rooms and a terrific view…but as our doctor–Juliet, by name–will discover, a killer apartment can sometimes wind up even more of a killer than you might expect. Especially once she finds out just how the apartment became available in the first place….

I’ll give Hammer due credit on this one–their opening title crawl is actually pretty creepy in its own right. It does a terrific job of setting up the rest of the nasty that we’re going to be seeing here, and thankfully, it doesn’t shoot its metaphorical bolt in the title crawl. Really, Resident is a good old fashioned thriller of the kind we only used to see way back in the deep dark days of, say, Fatal Attraction or Basic Instinct. This will have urbanites and apartment dwellers alike checking under their beds for days, possibly even weeks afterward, and that is no small feat these days.

But be careful–this is also going to be quite a bit more than you might normally get out of a thriller these days. It’s a very high-tension piece; this one–they do a great job of building suspense, and most of the last half hour is going to be an utter onslaught of freaky moments and vicious combat. Where the hour preceding it was careful, deliberate, and took its time regarding pacing, the last half hour will run wildly amok and do downright terrifying things.  The contrast between the earlier two thirds and the ending third really makes this movie something special.

Basically, folks, if you’re dying for a shocker with a whole lot of punch to it–and, parenthetically, a pretty sweet date movie, fellas–you’ll definitely have to have a go-round with Hammer‘s newest.

Frankly, if this is indicative of the kind of quality they’ll put into all their work then I’m absolutely dying to see Wake Wood.

The Screenhead Ten Scale gives Resident a full ten out of ten for not only putting on a great show, but also being every inch worthy of the old Hammer name. This is fine stuff for anyone who likes their movies scary, and well worth a watch.