One of the most popular movies on Netflix right now is a documentary about people hiding in a shopping mall.
Secret Mall Apartment puts the movie’s entire premise right in the title, with a plot centering on a group of young Rhode Island natives who built a secret apartment inside the Providence Place mall.
Compelling if unconventional subject matter, the movie has taken Netflix by storm — it reached as high as No. 4 on the site’s most popular movies chart. Secret Mall Apartment is also critically acclaimed, with a near-perfect 98 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Watch With Us breaks down why Secret Mall Apartment should be at the top of your watchlist.
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Is ‘Secret Mall Apartment’ Based on a True Story?
Believe it or not, the story behind Secret Mall Apartment is very real. Back in 2003, a group of young people living in Rhode Island created a secret home inside a local shopping mall. Artists Michael Townsend, Adriana Valdez-Young and six more of their friends built a hidden apartment inside a 750-square-foot abandoned space inside the Providence Place shopping mall. The act was protest against the mall’s controversial development, which had encroached upon their neighborhood as a form of gentrification.
Incredibly, for over four years, the living space remained undetected, and the group resided there consistently for up to three weeks at a time. However, they were finally caught in 2007 and Townsend, the leader, was charged with trespassing — reduced from the initial charge of breaking and entering. Ultimately, these cut-and-dry facts of the case are only one tiny part of this fascinating documentary about art and community in the face of capitalism.
It’s a Genuinely Thought-Provoking Documentary
The subject matter of Secret Mall Apartment might seem silly, even kind of hilarious, but the filmmaking is incredibly thoughtful, exposing this seemingly absurd story for what it truly is. Director Jeremy Workman focuses on the intentions behind Townsend and his friends’ actions, something that started off as a dare that turned into a cross between art installation, social experiment and activism. In particular, emphasis is placed on the upheaval that the mall brought to the residents of Providence.
Secret Mall Apartment chronicles the history of Providence, how its decline during the second half of the 20th century brought developers looking to squeeze potential income out of any unused space. While some residents welcomed the clean-up, others bristled at the clear gentrification and profit being prioritized over people. Thus, Secret Mall Apartment isn’t just an entertaining tale of renegade artistry and social rebellion, but a look at the importance of human connection and the need for spaces where art can exist. Marketed as something of a “Trojan Horse,” Secret Mall Apartment draws you in with a funny situation but blossoms into more meditative explorations.
It Proves Audiences Don’t Just Want True Crime Slop
The surprise success of Secret Mall Apartment shouldn’t be viewed by the Netflix suits as a one-off thing, but as something they should capitalize on. The fact of the matter is that the platform has made a big part of their killing off of frequently exploitative true crime slop —unchallenging, easy to consume, turn-your-brain-off type content that gets churned out and forgotten about. True crime docs are like a quick fix, like eating candy. They provide a burst of delicious flavor, but they’re bad for you in the long run.
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However, Secret Mall Apartment should make the case for an expansion beyond the kinds of movies and series that primarily make up Netflix’s documentary library. It’s clear from the way that Secret Mall Apartment has instantly found favor with audiences that the people who use Netflix don’t only want shocking, horrifying true crime stories that expose the worst that humanity has to offer; in fact, it looks like audiences enjoy documentaries about the very best that humanity has to offer. Hopefully, Netflix will take the right cues from this and offer more options in the realm of well-crafted, stimulating true stories that don’t just shock and awe.
Stream Secret Mall Apartment now on Netflix.
