For a thriller that preys on modern anxieties, look no further than The Occupant on Netflix. This Spanish-language film is a terrifying psychological drama about a man who can’t let go of the life he lost, and the dangerous lengths he’ll go to get it back.
Javier Gutiérrez stars as a once-successful advertising executive who, after a year of unemployment, is forced to sell his lavish apartment. He and his family move into a modest, working-class flat, a downgrade he finds deeply humiliating.
The film’s suspense ignites when Javier discovers he still has a set of keys to his old home. He begins letting himself in when the new family—a successful man, his wife, and their daughter—are out. His visits escalate from nostalgic wandering to a dark, methodical obsession with the new tenants.
He studies their lives, their habits, and their weaknesses. His envy and resentment curdle into a chilling, sociopathic plan to infiltrate their lives and reclaim the status and wealth he believes is rightfully his.
If you enjoy this kind of slow-burn psychological terror, Netflix also offers Bird Box, Havoc, and Interceptor. For more psychological drama, Prime Video has Saltburn, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and Black Bag.
