Hemet, or the Landlady Don’t Drink Tea, is a campy little indie nugget of joy, liver spots, and all. Liz (Brian Patrick Butler) is a nasty old lady who rules her apartment complex in the middle of nowhere with an iron fist. In the first scene, she kicks one tenant out, raises another’s rent out of spite, and effortlessly doles out caustic insults casually as if chatting about the weather. She takes advantage of all in her charge and spews acerbic banter at whomever she sees fit because she is the one with the power. But will the old lady’s nefarious ways catch up with her? Directed by Tony Olmos, Butler writes and stars, and edits a showcase for his brilliantly biting matriarch offering more than a few laugh-out-loud lines during the 87-minute comedy thriller. The pacing is messy, the make-up is serviceable, and the practical effects are adequate, but if you let perfect be the enemy of fun, you are at the wrong address.

In an oblique reference to the Covid pandemic, the outside world is falling apart and shutting down. An epidemic of bath salt addicts roaming the streets hungry for human flesh. Well, mainly human legs. Landlord Liz’s intimate apartment complex offers a safe haven from the astronomical rent hikes in the area. In exchange, Liz gets away with pretty much anything, including bribing the local police, stealing her tenant’s parking spaces, and a little organized crime. Emboldened by the dire situation of her tenants, she takes it too far by moving her daughter Kate (Aimee La Joie) and two grandkids into a coveted unit. One renter, Rosie (Kimberly Weinberger), knows the score and dutifully lays low as others face Liz’s wrath. That is until the landlady hatches a crazy scheme with deadly consequences, and Rosie becomes the scapegoat.

Hemet, or the Landlady Don’t Drink Tea is chasing the vibe of the classic crime ensemble piece set in a roadside motel. The flick is filled with a collection of larger than life characters and caricatures that exist simply to move the plot along and become fodder for Liz’s devious plans. Sherrif Hunting (Randy Davison) is the dopey lawman under the spell of Liz. Tank (Nick Young) is the strong-armed thug who schemes and threatens to get what he wants. Howie (Pierce Wallace) is the tree-hugging Los Angeles ex-pat who is a little too refined for the others in the complex. These characters are all fine and played well enough but Weinberger‘s Rosie and Tank Young’s Tank are the standouts in the group.

Still Butler‘s Liz is an iconic force of nature that takes Hemet, or the Landlady Don’t Drink Tea from mildly entertaining to hilarious at times. When she gets on a tear and begins to chatter there’s no telling what will spill forth from her bitter mouth. Yes, the production is unmistakably independent but there is a certain charm to the movie that gets you through the scenes until Liz is on screen again.