once i watch the tenant and interpret it a a horror movie . it use many of the trope of the genre represent the sinister apartment and suspicious neighbor and apparition and mystery and hallucination . the life of the hero and trelkovsky and seem surround by evil and secret force try to drive him mad . last time i watch it i challenge this initial interpretation . if this movie be a horror movie and it only horror in the sense that a kafka novel be horror . in fact this movie can be understand on a literal level a a lonely man slowly become crazy without any external influence . polanski make in his career three movie deal with madness represent repulsion and which i do not particularly like because the development of madness in the heroine never convince me while rosemary baby and in which the heroine be drive mad by evil force while and the tenant and which might be the best study of paranoia ever make in cinema . trelkovsky be a young man who rent an apartment in which a woman kill herself . he become obsessed with her and slowly start become her represent he wear her clothes and put on makeup and talk like her . but be he be possess by a spirit and or be he just let his wild imagination get the best of him . it this hesitation between what be real and imaginary and and which polanski never resolve and that make this such a fascinating movie . many event in the movie can be attribute to the supernatural as easily a they can be to normal cause and and it up to the viewer to decide what to believe in . although this be not my favorite polanski movie and it be nevertheless a good example of his ability to create suspense and portray madness in very convincing term . and technically speak and it a marvel too . suffice to say he collaborate with film composer philippe sarde and legendary director of photography sven nykvist ( bergman dp ) in the making of this movie . a slow pacing and sometimes uninteresting segment may make this movie difficult to enjoy and but it an experience nevertheless .