When his neighbor is found dead, Sandru cannot help but think about the arguments he heard shortly before, behind her door on the second floor of his building. However, this rather ordinary family man decides not to tell the police when he is interrogated. And as Sandru’s suspicion starts to focus on Vali, the neighbor of the dead woman, it also interferes in his life...

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One Floor Below starts out as an intriguing thriller: its absolutely normal setting (the main characters, the building, the decor, the drama) is invaded by an indescribable, impalpable anguish that is effectively suggested by the movie’s mise en scene. The disorder that impinges on Sandru’s inner life is expertly contrived by Romanian director Radu Muntean and his lead actor Teodor Corban. Except that very quickly, too quickly, the machine begins to idle. Neither truly suspenseful nor really dramatic, the movie drags, exuding a modern anxiety that is certainly relevant but somewhat futile in the end. Hence the impression of a film whose quality starts off high enough to eventually drop too low, leaving a bitter aftertaste.