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Suspense film 'The Room' offers view of horrific fantasy

<h3 class="briefHead">"The Room" - ★ ★ ★</h3>

Starring: Olga Christian Volckman's "The Room" sucks us into a vortex of unpredictable, imaginative fantasy as it explores what happens to a happily married couple when given the ability to possess anything they want.

Kate and Matt (Olga Kurylenko and Kevin Janssens) move into a dilapidated monstrosity of a Maryland manor containing a mysterious locked room.

They find out that the previous owners had been killed. (Tip: Research a house history before you buy, not after.)

Matt discovers that if he stands in the now-unlocked room and wishes for some physical thing (not love, power or smarts), the room goes dark and poof! The requested item arrives faster than an Amazon delivery driver hopped up on Red Bull.

The ecstatic husband and wife revel in getting whatever their hearts or other organs desire.

A catch? Of course.

Volckman's intelligent, twisty take on the classic "Monkey's Paw" tale veers from a fresh and provocative premise to frightening sadness as never-satisfied Kate uses the room to compensate for her two miscarriages.

A distraught Matt tracks down John Doe (a scarifying John Flanders), convicted of the house murders, and demands answers.

In supplying them, Doe reveals that the gifts of "The Room" come at a price.

Cue the sound of viewers' jaws dropping on carpets.

Starring: Olga Kurylenko, Kevin Janssens, John Flanders

Directed by: Christian Volckman

Other: An RLJE Films release. Available through Shudder on VOD, Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray. (NR) 100 minutes

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