Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea

Hemet, or the Landlady Don't Drink Tea is a 2023 American satirical dark comedy film directed by Tony Olmos and written by Brian Patrick Butler. It stars Butler, Kimberly Weinberger, Aimee La Joie, Randy Davison, Merrick McCartha and Nick Young.

The film is a dystopian horror story set in Riverside County, California but was filmed in San Diego County. Hemet premiered during San Diego Film Week at Digital Gym Cinema where it was nominated for Best Dark Comedy. Butler later received nominations for acting, screenplay, and editing at the 13th Oceanside International Film Festival.

Plot
During an epidemic, tenants in Hemet, California grapple with each other while attempting to overthrow their fascistic landlord.

Production
Brian Patrick Butler came up with the idea in 2018 and principal photography occurred in 2021 in San Diego County, California. He said by the time he was finishing the script, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, he had "much more material to work with" than when he'd started, referring to the state of the world. Kimberly Weinberger, who played Rosie, attended college with Butler. Aimee La Joie and Nick Young also worked with Butler on previous film productions.

Butler was also the film's executive producer through his production company Charybdis Pictures. Justin Burquist signed on as the director of photography and Tony Olmos as director. Olmos' company Rosewood Five produced the film in association with Rob Padilla Jr. of Irontree Entertainment.

The setting of the film is in Hemet, California but exterior scenes were filmed in Ramona, California and interior shots in Olmos' La Jolla apartment. Olmos said it is a political film about "abuse of power and how power corrupts people and can turn neighbor against neighbor."

Release
The film premiered on November 18, 2023 at the Digital Gym Cinema as part of San Diego Film Week and screened at the 13th Oceanside International Film Festival on February 24, 2024.

Critical response
Anton Bitel at Projected Figures said "Tony Olmos’ crude dystopian satire pits desperate tenants against a Trumpian lessor – and each other." Brian Fanelli at 1428 Elm said the film has slasher elements, "heart, grit, laughs, and bloodshed" and is "for those who like something truly strange and unusual." Stuart Monroe at Get On My Damn Level said the film is 3.5 out of 5 and "one mean mother of an absurdly surrealistic fairy tale." Charlotte Spark at Morbidly Beautiful gave the film 3.5 out of 5, comparing it to Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome, stating "it didn’t fully resonate," but had "strong performances and quite a few laughs." Jim McLennan at Film Blitz said it "takes wild, swinging punches at everything from capitalism to pandemic response" and is a "malevolent atrocity." They scored it a B– and compared it to Tootsie, Monty Python's Flying Circus, and acknowledged it was expanded from Butler's previous film Friend of the World, "while remaining an exercise in the world falling apart when subjected to external pressures." Eddie Harrison at film-authority scored it 3 out of 5 and said it is a gore film that is "a biting, scabrous, no-holds barred satire that aims to take down the American/capitalist dream in bloody, unpleasant fashion."

Clotilde Chinnici at Loud and Clear Reviews praised Weinberger's performance and gave the film 2.5 out of 5, claiming that the film had "tense atmosphere" but that it was forgettable and "could have landed a lot better if its characters had been explored more." Ryan Devir at Film Threat said it matched the tone of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 with "solid gore and impressive kills," but criticized the characters, dialogue and humor, scoring it 3.5 out of 10.