Happy Tuesday Horror Fans! This week I checked out a new Tubi Original titled “Romi”. This film follows a young girl Maddie (Alexa Barajas) who is house-sitting at this new state-of-the-art smart home. While the difficulties with the smart house seem like minor bugs Maddie soon begins to think something more sinister may be afoot.
We first meet Maddie while she is driving her car, and quickly we see her hit someone in her car while she was reaching for her phone. This is what causes Maddie to be sent to this house by her mother. Maddie's mother is a politician and doesn't want Maddie connected to this hit-and-run because it could mess with her re-election campaign. We learn that the house used to belong to a man named Hertig (Pavel Kríz) and his wife Irina (Jamie Shelnitz) who recently disappeared. Barkley (Juan Riedinger) oversees the functionality of ROMI, the smart home program.
Overall I liked the idea of a sinister smart house. It felt like a bit of nostalgia from the Disney Channel Original Movie Smart House. However, I felt this movie was a bit slow in terms of pacing. Maddie spends most of the film on her own seeming bored in the house, which in turn made me feel a bit bored. Maddie then spends some time trying to figure out more about Irina and her disappearance. The house acting odd causes leaves the audience to try and figure out if the house had something to do with her disappearance or if someone is manipulating the house to do their dirty work.
The end reveal felt a bit anti-climactic. Of course, I won't spoil anything but the end made me mad and not in a good/exciting way. The set design and sound are the driving forces in the film in my opinion. Alexa Barajas delivers a solid performance, though I believe her character could have been more developed. Despite being the protagonist, Maddie comes across as a passive character throughout the film.
5 out of 10 Screams