The Occupant (2020)

The Occupant (2020): When Desperation Breeds Deception

The Occupant shows us how quickly normal ambition can turn into dangerous obsession. This Spanish thriller follows an ordinary man's disturbing pathological transformation as he refuses to accept his changing life circumstances.

Fallen Star: The Marketing Executive's Decline

• Lost career forces Javier out of his prestigious job.

• Younger competition preferred in the job market despite his experience.

• Can't accept reality of his new financial situation.

• Obsession with status drives increasingly creepy behavior.

Javier Gutiérrez brilliantly plays a once-successful marketing executive who loses his nice modern apartment, his housemaid, and moral compass. Instead of adjusting to his new life, where he must lower his standard of living (such has have a less fancy kitchen faucet,) Javier becomes fixated on maintaining his former lifestyle at any cost.

The Perfect Target: Family Infiltration

• Former home and its new occupants become his obsession.

• Picture-perfect family has everything he wants, especially Tomas.

• Careful manipulation allows him to worm his way into their lives.

Javier becomes fixated on his old house and its new owners—a handsome father, Tomas, his wealthy wife Lara (daughter of a Spanish business tycoon), and their talented, beautiful daughter, Monica. This family becomes the target of Javier's depraved and underhanded scheme.

Psychological Warfare: The Con Artist's Methods

• Subtle manipulation rather than obvious threats.

• Finding weaknesses by secretly gathering personal information.

• Presents himself differently to everyone.

• Gradually worsening ominous behavior throughout the story.

• Comparing his "disappointing" son to their perfect daughter.

What makes the movie truly creepy is how methodical Javier's approach is. He doesn't resort to violence but instead uses cunning mind games. We see him wear different masks—one for his family, another for the wife (Lara), and yet another for her husband (Tomas).

Moral Reflection: The Mirror of Human Nature

• Feelings humans know—jealousy and rejection—drive his actions.

• Step-by-step moral decline rather than pure evil from the start.

• Uncomfortable truth about darker human impulses.

• Comparison to other predators in a key blackmail scene.

A revealing moment comes when Javier meets a blackmailing pedophile—the only person who sees through his act. This confrontation suggests Javier's manipulation belongs in the same category of sick and perverted behavior.

"Un-American" Storytelling: No Justice

• No Hollywood ending where the bad guy gets punished or exposed.

• Shocking conclusion leaves viewers hanging.

• Similar to manipulation narrative films like Georgetown (2019).

• Fantastic acting in showing deception within deception.

Unlike American thrillers, The Occupant doesn't give us the satisfaction of seeing justice served. Instead, viewers are left stunned as Javier's schemes continue unchallenged and crimes buried, showing how connivance often goes undetected in real life.

The Occupant stands as a powerful study of envy and identity, showing how one man's inability to accept personal setbacks leads him to destroy the happy and hopeful lives of others. Gutiérrez's performance makes this Spanish thriller a must-watch for anyone interested in the darker side of human psychology, and want to be captivated yet appalled, riveted yet repulsed by this film directed by Alex Pastor and David Pastor.