Resident Manager
About the Film
Resident Manager is a tense, jumpy thriller that delves into the world of the human psyche. During the film, the main character (Cole) is confronted with a series of disturbing events while roaming around a building.
Logline
A new apartment manager tries to make sense of the strange goings-on at his building.
Tagline
Some doors aren't meant to be opened.
Synopsis
RAY, the manager of an apartment building, hands over the keys to his successor, COLE, and warns him not to open the door in the basement. When Ray leaves, Cole explores the building and is immediately haunted by a shadowy figure and strange snapshots into his past.
​
Despite his fear and confusion, Cole locates the figure and follows him through the basement door. In the dark recesses of the basement, Cole confronts the figure who reveals himself as a tormented manifestation of Cole's psyche.
​
Watch the trailer below:
Awards and Screenings
36th Round of the Scary Cow Film Festival, Phase 1 at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco
Winner of the Audience Award - Outstanding Cinematography - Outstanding Editing - Outstanding Visual Effects
​
2019 Another Hole in the Head Festival
Official Selection - Tickets and schedule available Nov. 4th 2019 - https://www.ahith.com
Crew
Written and Directed by Gareth RT Owen
Sound and Picture by Christopher Talbott
Score by Giv Parvaneh and Christopher Talbott
​
Giv Parvaneh - Assistant Director
Paul Hara - Assistant Camera
Ian Szetho - Key Grip
Aditya Misra - Sound Recordist
Andrew Greer - Craft Services
Cast
Gabriel Rios as Cole
Vonn Scott Bair as Ray
Getting ready to shoot the hallway Steadycam shot with (left to right) Aditya Misra Chris Talbott, Paul Hara (behind) and Gareth Owen
Follow focus malfunction time out with (front to back) Paul Hara, Aditya Misra, Chris Talbott, and Gebe Rios.
Assistant Director Giv Parvaneh showing off the secret sauce of how we brought the 'Demon's Lair' to life.
Gareth R.T. Owen
Gareth is a British writer/filmmaker based in Los Angeles. After studying screenwriting in the UK, Gareth came to California and worked on multiple indie productions, including short films, features, and documentaries.
​
Directors Statement
My aim for this movie was to delve into the world of the human psyche and touch on the issue of mental health, but in an indirect way, and while still producing a tense, jumpy thriller. We did this by having the main character (Cole) be confronted with a series of disturbing events while roaming around a building, which is a representation of his own mind.
​
Symbolism was very important for the film, and we chose to use the mid-levels of the building to represent the subconscious, where Cole’s beliefs and memories live. While the roof represents a higher consciousness, where observation & enlightenment can be experienced. And the basement represents the unconscious, where trauma and guilt can be found.
Christopher Talbott
Chris is a San Francisco based multimedia artist and filmmaker. While living in the Bay Area for the last 15 years Chris has studied film at the Academy of Art, audio engineering at Berklee College of Music, and motion graphics at the Bay Area Video Coalition. He currently runs a small production company working in corporate video and film production.
​
Production with Smash Bang Roar
With the story in hand Gareth recruited Chris Talbott's Smash Bang Roar to produce and shoot the film on cameras with the Red Dragon sensor. We shot over two days in an apartment complex in San Francisco's Tenderloin district and in an office in the Inner Richmond district. Due to budgetary constraints the crew remained very small and the entirety of post production was done by Chris himself at Smash Bang Roar.
​
