Best of the Worst: The Room Returns

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A new interpretation of the cult worst film in the world “The Room” — premiered in Poland!

What happens when one of the most famous “worst films in the world” falls into the hands of really great actors? The original “The Room” by Tommy Wiseau from 2003 went down in the history of cinema not quite for the reasons that the creators dream of. The production cost about $6 million and many months of shooting, and the peculiar dialogues, incomprehensible decisions of the characters and already legendary scenes made the film a world phenomenon and one of the biggest cult hits of cinema “so bad, so good.”

“The Room Returns” takes the same story and conducts a fascinating experiment on it. This time the film was made practically without a budget, and the shooting took less than 12 hours. Johnny stars Bob Odenkirk, the star of “Better Call Saul” and “Breaking Bad,” and stars Bella Heathcote, Kate Siegel and Greg Sestero — the only actor from the original “The Room” cast to return in a new version, this time in a completely different role.

One of the most important modern horror creators, Mike Flanagan, director of “Doctor Sleep”, “Oculus” and creator of “Haunted House on the Hill”, was also involved in the project. Flanagan became the executive producer of the film, and by the way, he himself stood in front of the camera as Peter, a psychologist and friend of Johnny and Mark.

There were no rehearsals. The actors had prompters at their disposal and a task that sounds almost impossible: to play Tommy Wiseau's lyrics completely seriously.

And this is where all the fun begins. The creators do not distance themselves from the material, do not blink at the viewer and do not turn “The Room” into a parody. On the contrary, the actors throw themselves into the story with full commitment, deadly seriousness and almost Shakespearean pathos. Bob Odenkirk is really trying to make each of these famous issues sound believable.

Can a brilliant actor save a fateful dialogue? Is a great acting workshop capable of changing one of the most peculiar scenarios in the history of cinema? Or is it just then that the absurdity of “The Room” reveals its full power?

“The Room Returns” is simultaneously a tribute, a cinematic experiment and the next chapter in one of pop culture's most unlikely stories. And everything was created for a worthy cause — as a charity project Acting for a Cause.