In this godforsaken year of 2020, our only hope for any new movies has been streaming services. Thankfully, services such as Netflix, has a backlog of movies to add to its site on a monthly basis. 1BR has been on my recommended list since it was released on the service in April of this year. So, in procrastinating watching the new Charlie Kaufman film (because I don’t think I’m quite emotionally ready for that yet), I decided to finally watch this one, and I’m glad I did. 

I don’t know what I was expecting with a film named 1BR taking place in Los Angeles, California. But, I should have expected it to be about a cult. Because Southern California has always been about that cult life, for some reason. (Seriously. Look up the history of cults in this state. It’s insane). 

1BR is a horror/thriller written and directed by newcomer David Marmor. All in all, he does a nice job with the pacing of this film. The run time is only 90 minutes, and it doesn’t feel too short or too long. Every minute is used to the stories advantage. 

The cult portrayed in the film does feel very much like scientology (doesn’t deserve to be capitalized), with some other cult aspects thrown in. In particular, though, the end realization of the film is very reminiscent of scientology and the hooks they have in Hollywood. But, that’s all I’ll say about that. You’ll get what I’m saying once you watch the film. 

The acting was decent. The story captivated me more than the actors did. Other than that, though, I thought it was a solid film. So, if you like horror/thrillers, this one is worth the time. No regrets here.