Set sometime during the more restricted phase of the pandemic, In the Room Where He Waits follows a Broadway actor returning to his hometown for his father’s funeral, waiting out his two-week quarantine, and confined to a hotel room. Fresh out of a messy break-up and deep into rehearsals for an upcoming performance, Tobin Wade (Daniel Monks) is torn between the pressure of a blossoming career and a personal history that’s been relegated to wait in the wings. Tobin’s own repressions and the hotel’s dark past coalesce into a malignant force that builds with each passing night.

Anchored by its phenomenal lead, the film injects audiences with a healthy dose of thrill and emotion. Although specific spooks have been done before in the genre, both context and Monks’ razor-sharp performance make this a memorable watch. Being the sole focal point in an unchanging setting, Monks takes the pressure in stride and delivers a performance that leaves it all on the field. Vulnerable, complex, at-times frustrating and thus so convincingly real, Tobin is a man who perfectly encapsulates the struggle of balance between demands of self, work, love and family in a modern lifestyle. Expertly written and unflinchingly portrayed, the lead’s character had me far more interested in Tobin’s repression and trauma than the almost onerous inclusion of an external ghost story. While the hotel’s expository horror was neat, it required the narrative real estate that might instead have been granted to the highly compelling paternal trauma, which consequently had to take a back seat.

In the Room Where He Waits is a spectacular Aussie debut, but at times, the seams peek through. While the pacing and repetition help to build the claustrophobia, the film feels, at times, slightly overlong. Certain sequences bring more or less to the table than others, and juggling the variety of conflicts result in certain elements coming across as a little undercooked.

In any case, the film’s technical aspects hold up well, especially thriving in the more vibrant, psychological sequences—though it would have been gratifying to see even more in this vein.

Ultimately, In the Room Where He Waits boasts a complex but slightly overloaded story which at times drifts across and away from a more interesting pulse. A must-see for fans of contemporary Aussie cinema and an exciting step for both writer-director Timothy Despina Marshall and the excellent Daniel Monks.

3 out of 5 stars

“In the Room Where He Waits” is currently screening at Luna Palace Cinemas.