Sara immediately takes a liking to her new roommate, Rebecca (Leighton Meester, Gossip Girl) and the girls immediately form a bond. However, Sara notices that Rebecca doesn't really seem to get along with the other girls she's met in the dorm, namely Tracy (Aly Michalka, Easy A), who is a bit of a party girl and actually leaves Sara at a club to go off with a guy. But trustworthy Rebecca comes to the rescue. Sara turns her focus away from partying and onto her fashion design classes. She fights hard to get into Professor Roberts' (Billy Zane) class, as she has heard great things about the charismatic teacher, but then sours a bit when he invites her to Paris as his assistant for Fashion Week and then tries to kiss her. Sara also zeroes in on frat boy drummer Stephen (Cam Gigandet Easy A) and the two began a relationship. However, soon Sara begins to notice strange things going on around her. Not only is Rebecca incredibly overprotective and smothering, but Tracy moves out of the dorm and is avoiding her (at least when she is with Rebecca) and Professor Roberts has been relieved of his duties on campus. Could it all be a coincidence? Matters come to a head when Sara announces that she is considering moving in with her fashion designer mentor, Irene (Danneel Ackles) and Rebecca panics at the thought of losing her best friend and takes drastic and violent measures. The climactic showdown will leave you on the edge of your seat.
I have an all new respect for Leighton Meester. I must admit, I've never seen Gossip Girl, but I always thought of it as more of a teen drama type show - more of a 90210 than something requiring serious acting skills. But Meester scared the living daylights out of me in this movie. She is intense and chilling and kept my stomach in knots for most of the movie, waiting to see what she would do next. Quite frankly, Minka Kelly's no slouch either, though. For that matter, the whole cast worked together perfectly to create a really tense and frightening viewing experience. The Roommate reminded me of Single White Female, but modernized for the current time, complete with a cast of hot young actors.
Special features are sparse, but enjoyable. There are a handful of Deleted/Alternate Scenes, plus Director's Commentary, then three Blu-ray exclusive featurettes. One is a making-of, one covers the fashion of The Roommate and the last discusses the members of young Hollywood who are featured in the film. As for the choice of Blu-ray or DVD, the picture was crisp and the sound was excellent, but it would have been fine on DVD as well. The real draw for fans of the stars would be the exclusive Blu-ray special features.
Overall, if you like a good thriller that will keep you riveted to the screen, you'll like The Roommate. I had a tough time sleeping after watching this movie, but that's a good thing for a thriller. Recommended.
