The Super (2017 film)

The Super is a 2017 American horror thriller film directed by Stephan Rick and starring Patrick Flueger and Val Kilmer.

Plot
Phil Lodge (Patrick Fleuger), a retired cop, takes up a job in a large apartment building as one of three supers, because the family has been through a tragedy; Phil’s wife and the mother of his daughters has died and he says being a cop is too risky, meaning his girls could lose both parents.

As part of being a live-in super, Phil takes up residence in said apartment building with his two daughters, 14-year-old Violet (Taylor Richardson) and 7-year-old Rose (Mattea Conforti). Things seem to have been tense since then, with the adolescent Violet radiating attitude and push back in every conversation she has with her dad.

Prior to Phil moving in, Violet's favorite teacher was murdered in the same apartment building. Soon after Phil begins work, a series of disappearances take place one after the other and Phil begins to notice Rose has begun to have a strange fascination with one of the other supers, Walter (Val Kilmer). Walter, in addition to being mysterious, also happens to dabble in black magic. Phil begins to suspect that Walter is behind the mysterious disappearances and is shown to go to any lengths to protect himself and the lives of his daughters.

It's then revealed that Rose is the twin sister of Violet who died with her mother years ago and appears to Phil as a ghost, and that she is responsible for possessing Phil, causing him commit the murders in the building. Those who are murdered see Rose as well just before they die. It's also revealed that Walter has been trying to get rid of Rose with black magic so that Phil won't be tormented.

Cast

 * Patrick Flueger as Phil Lodge
 * Taylor Richardson as Violet Lodge
 * Mattea Conforti as Rose Lodge
 * Val Kilmer as Walter
 * Louisa Krause as Beverly
 * Paul Ben-Victor as Mr. Johnson
 * Yul Vazquez as Julio
 * Alex Essoe as Ms. Daigle
 * Luke Edwards as Brad
 * Justine J. Hall as Sofia

Production
On August 13, 2018, it was announced that Saban Films acquired the rights to the film.

Reception
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 40% based on 10 reviews, with an average rating of 4.9/10. Noel Murray of the Los Angeles Times gave the film a negative review and wrote, "Still, even bad horror movies can have their pleasures, and here it’s Kilmer who gives The Super a kick."

However, Maitland McDonagh of Film Journal International gave the film a positive review and wrote, "How surprising the story’s twist ending turns out to be depends on how thoroughly steeped in horror moves the viewer is, but it’s well executed down to small details like the creepy clown puzzle with which little Rose likes to play." Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter also gave it a positive review writing that "it offers a few decent scares as well as the opportunity for Val Kilmer to once again display his unique brand of screen charisma."