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"The Tenant" is a social realist horror film with profound thought-provoking elements.

It's a psychological thriller that doesn't feature gore or violence, but rather deeply connects with social issues to evoke genuine fear.

At the beginning of the story, eighteen-year-old Lin Jiayi graduated from high school and came to Guangzhou from Chaozhou. With the help of her cousin, she got a job in a garment factory.

Lin Jiayi comes from a poor family and is the eldest sister in her family. She is brave, sensible, and responsible. Right after graduating from high school, she started working to earn money and help her parents support the family.

So when she learned that even the most ordinary flatbed sewing machine operator could earn seven or eight thousand a month once she became skilled, she was filled with hope for the future.

The garment factory was located in the city center and did not provide dormitories, so she could only find a place to stay in a nearby urban village.

This apartment is on the fourth floor of a building where the buildings are very close together.

Because there is no separate bathroom, the kitchen is shared with other people, the area is small and there are no windows, and it only costs 600 yuan per month, with the landlord also covering water and electricity.

Lin Jiayi was very satisfied with this.

Although the landlady was rather harsh, constantly telling her to "mind her own business" and "don't fall behind on rent," she wasn't a bad person. Seeing that she was young and didn't have any relatives or friends living with her, she would occasionally give her a few words of advice.

The first scene we're filming today is Lin Jiayi moving house with a snakeskin bag.

The landlady led her inside, handed her two keys, gave her some instructions, and then, as she reached the door, couldn't help but turn back and offer her two pieces of advice often seen in horror movies:

"Remember what I said: First, don't go out at night; second, don't eat anything from unknown sources!"

The lights in the hallway were probably broken; they flickered as she spoke.

The landlady had her eyebrows and lips tattooed years ago, and the color had faded a bit. She still liked to keep a straight face and speak in a sinister tone, which looked particularly eerie under the flickering lights.

The sound of dripping water came from somewhere, "drip, drip, drip" never stopping.

Lin Jiayi's pupils contracted slightly, her toes unconsciously shifted direction, and her hands trembled uncontrollably...

Just then, a shirtless middle-aged man pushed open the toilet door, his head covered in bubbles, and came out. Upon seeing the landlord, he began to complain irritably:
"Landlady! I already said the water heater is broken!! When are you going to fix it? It's so hot, people will die if they don't take a shower!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than he saw the light start flickering, and his anger flared up: "Fine! The light's broken too! I'm telling you! If you don't fix it right now, I'm not letting this go!"

Lin Jiayi had closed the door as soon as the man came out shirtless.

The house wasn't soundproof, and the landlady was yelling "bastard" outside, followed by all sorts of vulgarities. Lin Jiayi put the snakeskin bag on a chair, flopped onto the bare bed, and her previous excitement vanished instantly.

This scene isn't difficult; you just need to act like a normal 18-year-old girl.

Gu Lanxi thought she could pass on the first try, or at most get one pass, but the actress playing the landlady wasn't swearing very well, so she had to swear twice more. As a result, Gu Lanxi had to lie on the bare bed several more times.

It must be said that Tang Jiarong is truly an authority on horror films.

After filming a scene, Gu Lanxi went to the monitor and watched the playback with the director.

This drama is mostly dialogue-driven, with very few chase scenes, so during filming, most of the sound was recorded live.

Even without sound effects and special effects, the effect is still quite good because the actors' lines are very well-written.

"Lanxi truly deserves to be called a Best Actress at such a young age; her acting is truly gifted!"

Tang Jiarong has always been generous with his praise for the leading lady he finally managed to land. After watching the replay, he would give her a thumbs up and praise her to the skies in front of the staff.

"The attention to detail in the movements was superb! The subtlety and rhythm of her breathing were absolutely amazing! Lin Jiayi's emotional transitions were so natural! Absolutely fantastic!"

Gu Lanxi was always humble and polite, so she couldn't possibly accept everything at this time. Before she could even speak, Tang Jiarong praised the other two actors.

Well, I already knew this director had high emotional intelligence and was good at talking, but I didn't expect him to be such a flatterer when it came to filming.

Putting everything else aside, working with him is incredibly rewarding, providing a lot of emotional value.

After filming the first scene, they quickly began filming the second scene.

The house was originally a two-bedroom, one-living room layout, but the landlady was shrewd and partitioned off a small room in the corner of the living room, which is the room that Lin Jiayi rented.

Besides her, three other people lived in the apartment. The master bedroom was occupied by a middle-aged couple who were migrant workers. When Lin Jiayi arrived with the landlord, the wife had not yet returned, and the husband was the man who had come out halfway through his shower and started yelling. As for the other room, according to the landlady, it was rented to a young food delivery worker.

The second scene is a one-woman show by Gu Lanxi.

This scene required her to tidy up the house without saying a word, but she also had to show emotional fluctuations during the process.

Because of a fight between the landlord and the middle-aged tenant, Lin Jiayi realized that the living environment here was probably not very good, and the roommates would not be easy to get along with. Her mood worsened, but while cleaning the house, she realized that she was about to leave her family of origin and become an independent person who lived by her own hands. She gradually became more and more invigorated.

This scene was quite challenging. The director pulled her aside, explained the scene thoroughly, and had her try out the basic movements before filming began.

Gu Lanxi executed the director's plan perfectly, but the final product just didn't quite capture the essence of the film.

After two consecutive takes, with luggage being laid out and packed away repeatedly, screenwriter Shen Yanbin finally came up with a solution: "We need to maintain a sense of rhythm here, so why don't we play some music?"

Live sound recording might be better than post-production soundtrack.

"The problem is that the soundtrack hasn't been completed yet, and using other music would pose a major copyright issue."

Just as Tang Jiarong was considering whether to postpone the scene and film it later when everything was ready, Lu Nanting stepped forward:
"You just need a piece of music with a strong beat, right? I have a suggestion, I don't know if it will work?"

"Oh? Tell me about it."

“The soundproofing in this house is very poor. I can pretend to be a neighbor who plays music and doesn’t show his face. You see, across the balcony, less than a meter away, is another household. Lin Jiayi only needs to leave her door slightly ajar to hear everything clearly.”

To maintain secrecy, all the houses with views of the film set were rented by the production team, leaving that particular house empty. This idea was ingenious, and Tang Jiarong was easily persuaded.

Shen Yanbin even got inspired and filled in the gaps in the neighbor's character.

"As the city with the largest African immigrant population in Guangzhou, it's perfectly reasonable for Africans to be playing African drums next door!"

“That’s good. Living in the same city, regardless of age or race, we all have to work hard to make a living, which adds a deeper meaning. Xiao Lu, do you know how to do this? If you do, let’s get started.”

This film didn't have a large budget, and the screenwriter was on set the whole time. When the actors signed their contracts, there was a clause stating that the creative team would modify the script within reasonable limits. Adding a background sound that enriches the film's meaning is quite appropriate.

The director was a man of action, and Lu Nanting nodded in agreement, immediately arranging for someone to buy African drums.

Shen Yanbin got a sudden inspiration and started writing and drawing on the script, quickly adding another scene for the middle-aged tenant.

"This is someone who is under extreme pressure from life and will start arguing with people at the slightest dissatisfaction. If he doesn't curse when there's drumming on the other side late at night, it's unreasonable for him to not curse. You have to start cursing again."

The actor playing the middle-aged tenant was both happy to have his scenes expanded and worried: "If this kind of criticism continues, I'm afraid the movie won't pass censorship."

Shen Yanbin was amused by him: "Don't worry, we'll censor it in post-production, just leave half a sentence."

Okay, so when filming, they had to say the whole swear word just for half a sentence.

Sigh, life is tough.

Less than half an hour later, the staff brought the drum back. Lu Nanting went to the house across the street, sat in the living room, and banged on it vigorously, shaking his leg as he did so.

Shen Yanbin looked across the window from this side, and then, inspired, he added another scene, asking the other side to pull down the screen window so that Lu Nanting could hide behind it and pretend to be spying on Lin Jiayi.

Now, there's a reason to beat the drum in the middle of the night.

A beautiful girl moved in across the street, and I was instantly smitten, like a peacock spreading its tail feathers.

Everyone applauded this arrangement!
However, an accident still occurred during the first take.

It's unclear which household didn't go to work early in the morning, but upon hearing the drumming, they became even more agitated than the middle-aged tenant, and started cursing wildly in the local dialect.

Well, this time the "dialogue" really won't pass censorship.

Tang Jiarong scratched his head.

The population density here is simply too high. The film crew had a limited budget and couldn't possibly rent every house. So, it's not their fault that this happened. (End of Chapter)