The Roommate

The Roommate

Year: 2023

Runtime: 10 mins

Language: Ukrainian

Director: Evhenii Slupchuk

Maksym and Artem are roommates. Artem was expelled from the university and he will go home tomorrow. Will the last word be said and does it make sense?

Tense
Bittersweet ending
Emotionally heavy
High intensity
Steady pacing
Simple story

Warning: spoilers below!

Haven’t seen The Roommate yet? This summary contains major spoilers. Bookmark the page, watch the movie, and come back for the full breakdown. If you're ready, scroll on and relive the story!

Timeline & Setting – The Roommate (2023)

Explore the full timeline and setting of The Roommate (2023). Follow every major event in chronological order and see how the environment shapes the story, characters, and dramatic tension.

Time period

The story unfolds in a contemporary college setting, reflecting present-day student life with dorm living, classes in fashion design, and social events. The events follow a sequence of terms and holidays that structure campus interactions, from the freshman year to Thanksgiving gathering and beyond. The tone is modern and tense, mirroring real-world campus relationships and pressures.

Location

Los Angeles, California, USA

The action unfolds on a college campus in Los Angeles, centered around a dormitory life and campus clubs. Key settings include the dorms where Sara and Rebecca live, classrooms for design, and the surrounding nightlife that shapes social dynamics. The urban campus backdrop emphasizes friendships, rivalries, and the escalating tension of a dangerous fixation.

🎬 Film setting 🏛️ College campus 🌆 Urban environment

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 09:47

Main Characters – The Roommate (2023)

Meet the key characters of The Roommate (2023), with detailed profiles, motivations, and roles in the plot. Understand their emotional journeys and what they reveal about the film’s deeper themes.

Sara Matthews

Freshman student in Los Angeles who hopes to form a new circle of friends. She is trusting and hopeful, but increasingly wary as Rebecca's fixation grows and she confronts the darker boundaries of roommate dynamics. Sara values friendship and independence, and ultimately asserts her own safety.

🎓 Protagonist 🧭 Growth 💬 Communication

Rebecca

Sara's wealthy but shy roommate whose obsession with Sara drives the violence and manipulation. She rewrites events to isolate Sara and presents a fake sense of loyalty while pursuing total access to her friend. Her behavior escalates from possessive to deadly.

🎭 Antagonist 🧠 Obsessive 🪄 Manipulative

Tracy

Party-loving friend who becomes a target of Rebecca's jealousy. She faces a brutal attack and is forced to relocate dorms, illustrating the consequences of Rebecca's boundary-pushing behavior. Tracy's presence highlights the fragility of campus friendships.

🎉 Party 🚪 Roommate dynamics ⚠️ Warning

Stephen

Sara's love interest and supportive ally who tries to help her navigate the mounting threats. He provides steady presence and helps Sara realize the extent of Rebecca's delusion. He acts as a protective friend and partner in crisis.

💑 Love interest 🛡️ Ally 🗣️ Voice of reason

Irene

An old friend who invites Sara to move in, only to become entangled in Rebecca's schemes. Irene is drawn into the danger as Rebecca seduces her and manipulates the situation to isolate Sara. Her experience shows how quickly trusted relationships can be corrupted.

🤝 Friend 🪄 Complication ⚖️ Loyalty tested

Jason

Sara's ex-boyfriend who reaches out in hopes of reconciliation. Rebecca interferes by disguising herself as Sara and fatally stabbing Jason, marking a turning point in the crisis. His death underscores the lethal reach of obsession.

💔 Ex-partner ⚠️ Danger 🗡️ Violence

Professor Roberts

Sara's fashion design professor who is targeted by Rebecca as part of her plan to remove obstacles to Sara's companionship. Rebecca seduces him and records their interaction to feign a sexual assault, highlighting the power dynamics in the academic setting.

🎓 Professor 🧪 Manipulation 🎭 Authority

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 09:47

Major Themes – The Roommate (2023)

Explore the central themes of The Roommate (2023), from psychological, social, and emotional dimensions to philosophical messages. Understand what the film is really saying beneath the surface.

👀 Obsession

Rebecca's fixation on Sara drives the plot, distorting friendship into control. Her escalating behavior—stalking, manipulation, and violence—reveals how obsession can erode trust. The film uses this fixation to explore the dark side of desire for closeness.

🔎 Deception

Deception threads through the narrative as Rebecca fabricates scenarios and hides her true intentions. Hidden agendas and staged encounters create suspicion and tension, until the truth threatens to explode.

💔 Toxic Relationships

The story examines how unhealthy attachments contaminate friendships and campus life. Boundary violations, manipulation, and coercion illustrate the costs of codependency. It shows the danger of confusing loyalty with control.

🗝️ Power and Control

Rebecca seeks to monopolize Sara's attention, using secrecy and manipulation to assert dominance. The pursuit shifts from affection to coercion, illustrating how control can corrupt personal bonds. Sara's final act asserts her autonomy against manipulation.

Last Updated: October 01, 2025 at 09:47

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Explore Movie Threads

Discover curated groups of movies connected by mood, themes, and story style. Browse collections built around emotion, atmosphere, and narrative focus to easily find films that match what you feel like watching right now.

Claustrophobic Psychological Thrillers like The Roommate

Stories where an intimate setting becomes a cage of paranoia and manipulation.If you liked the unsettling tension of The Roommate, discover more movies that explore psychological manipulation and obsessive relationships in constricted settings. These films share a similar vibe of high intensity, heavy emotional weight, and a steady, nerve-wracking pacing.

claustrophobicunsettlingparanoidanxiousobsessivechillingpsychologicaldread

Narrative Summary

These narratives typically focus on a protagonist whose personal space and sanity are invaded by a close acquaintance. The plot unfolds through an escalating series of psychological games, gaslighting, and manipulation, creating a steady build towards a confrontation that often leaves deep emotional scars.

Why These Movies?

Movies are grouped here based on their shared intense, claustrophobic atmosphere and the core theme of a toxic, obsessive relationship. They create a similar visceral experience of dread and anxiety, making the viewer feel as trapped and paranoid as the protagonist.

Movies with Bittersweet Endings of Survival like The Roommate

Characters survive the ordeal, but are forever changed by their experience.If the heavy, bittersweet conclusion of The Roommate resonated with you, explore other films where characters endure psychological ordeals. These stories share a similar emotional journey, ending on a note that mixes relief with the sobering reality of lasting trauma.

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Narrative Summary

The narrative follows a character through a deeply disturbing and intense conflict, often involving psychological warfare. The resolution stops the immediate threat, but the focus shifts to the aftermath, showing a character who is safe but scarred, having lost their sense of safety or trust in others.

Why These Movies?

These films are connected by their somber, reflective endings that prioritize emotional realism over tidy conclusions. They share a heavy emotional weight and leave the viewer with a complex mix of relief and melancholy, focusing on the cost of survival rather than a clean victory.

Unlock the Full Story of The Roommate

Don't stop at just watching — explore The Roommate in full detail. From the complete plot summary and scene-by-scene timeline to character breakdowns, thematic analysis, and a deep dive into the ending — every page helps you truly understand what The Roommate is all about. Plus, discover what's next after the movie.

The Roommate Summary

Read a complete plot summary of The Roommate, including all key story points, character arcs, and turning points. This in-depth recap is ideal for understanding the narrative structure or reviewing what happened in the movie.

The Roommate Summary

The Roommate Timeline

Track the full timeline of The Roommate with every major event arranged chronologically. Perfect for decoding non-linear storytelling, flashbacks, or parallel narratives with a clear scene-by-scene breakdown.

The Roommate Timeline

The Roommate Spoiler-Free Summary

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The Roommate Spoiler-Free Summary

More About The Roommate

Visit What's After the Movie to explore more about The Roommate: box office results, cast and crew info, production details, post-credit scenes, and external links — all in one place for movie fans and researchers.

More About The Roommate

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The Roommate (2023) Plot Summary & Movie Recap

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The Roommate (2023) Spoiler-Free Summary & Key Flow