Remington Smith’s debut feature LandLords sinks its teeth into a setting horror has long ignored: short-term housing and seedy motels where survival itself is the real nightmare. Forget the gothic castles and velvet capes—Smith trades them in for bugs, cracked linoleum floors, and the suffocating anxiety of the working poor. We haven’t really seen this since Candyman.

And it works.

This is horror for anyone who’s ever had to count change for rent, crash on a stranger’s couch, or pray the heat stays on another night. The film’s vampire (William McKinney) is a literal parasites, but the true horror lies in how comfortably he fits into a world that already preys on the desperate. It’s not subtle, but it’s effective—and that grounded realism gives the story real bite.

Leading the cast, newcomer Adama Abramson delivers a raw, magnetic performance that anchors the film’s emotional core. She’s tough, wounded, and utterly believable—exactly the kind of protagonist you root for without needing her to be perfect. Cohen James Cooper shines as the orphaned boy who reminds us that even in a world this bleak, innocence can still flicker. The supporting cast adds texture, painting a community of strugglers rather than victims.

It’s also worth noting—and celebrating—that Landlords features a predominantly Black cast. The representation feels natural, not performative, and brings much-needed diversity to a genre that’s too often pale in more ways than one. As a white horror fan, I’ll say it: it’s refreshing that, for once, the villains are the ones who look like me.

Atmosphere is where Landlords truly thrives. The film builds tension like a slow-burn cigarette—thick, grimy, and irresistible. Smith’s eye for tone and texture gives this world an authenticity that most directors can only dream of. That said, the pacing at the beginning could use a little tightening. We’re living in the era of micro-attention spans, and shaving a few minutes off the setup might help hook impatient viewers faster, even if it is well-done.

Now, a word of advice: watch this one at night. The film’s moody, low-light aesthetic works beautifully in a dark room, but during the day, some details—especially in scenes with the Black cast—can get lost in shadow. A touch more creative lighting (colored accents, rim light, a hint of neon glow) could help those scenes pop without compromising the mood. Other filmmakers take note.

Despite that, Landlords stands as an impressive, thoughtful debut—a social horror that knows where it came from and what it wants to say. It’s atmospheric, unflinching, and beautifully human. This vampire doesn’t just drain blood—he drains hope.

And that’s what makes Landlords hit so close to home.

Pay your rent—or else.

SUMMARY:

It’s high summer at a rundown apartment complex when a Black bounty hunter with no name (newcomer Adama Abramson) arrives to retrieve a stolen briefcase. An orphaned boy named Alex (Cohen James Cooper) interrupts her search, and she finds herself protecting him from the white vampire landlord (William McKinney)—per vampire lore, he doesn’t need permission to enter a home he already owns. After the undead man kills his mother, Alex swears revenge and they must work together to confront the vampire, his familiar Christopher (Lance Gerard), and Sheriff Connor (J. Barrett Cooper).

Director Remington Smith’s prior films (The Woods, The Derby) offered documentary and fictional portraits of survival in unique American spaces. His debut feature film LandLord draws on his personal experiences with nomadic poverty and love of horror to highlight people & places seldom seen in film battling fictional forces in a grounded reality. Combining neo-realist aesthetics with horror atmospherics, LandLord is an evocative horror film with nuanced characters, biting social commentary, and a new take on a classic movie monster.

LandLord was written, directed, produced, and edited by Remington Smith. The film stars Adama Abramson (feature film debut), Cohen James Cooper (feature film debut), William McKinney (Showtime series George and Tammy), J. Barrett Cooper (White Noise, and Queen of the Ring), and Lance Gerard (feature film debut).