Secret Mall Apartment Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Secret Mall Apartment Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 17, 2025

Maybe Jesse Eisenberg, who executive produced this charming documentary, could have taken his "cousin" on a tour of Providence Place Mall after their "visit" to Majdanek, though in the case of the Mall, the "prisoners" there were kept captive by their own design. Sometimes supposed urban legends turn out to be more or less the truth, and that is the case with a long rumored "secret apartment" in a (largely) unknown nook and/or cranny inside what was once deemed Providence, Rhode Island's best chance to revitalize its downtown core. It turns out that revitalization to some is gentrification to others, and amongst those in the latter camp was one Michael Townsend. Michael and his cohort, including his wife at the time Adriana Valdez Young, basically had a running bet to see who could "live" at the mall the longest without being caught by security. Michael rather quickly found what might be (to probably questionably continue the Holocaust references) a "secret annex" of sorts only accessible via an insanely steep and long ladder. It soon dawned on Michael and his friends that they could actually set up shop, so to speak, in the 750 square foot space, which is when things started to get really gonzo.

What ensues is a tale of a kind of "quiet resistance", in that Michael, an artist who had been displaced by downtown development, wanted to make an obviously ironic comment about city planners' frequent complaint that new construction had "unused space". The fact that he and his friends went to such patently insane lengths to make their point is both part of the fun of this piece, but also perhaps a place where more considered analysis might have helped balance things out a bit. To cite just one example of how far the group went in this goofy enterprise, they ended up building a wall of cinder blocks (so that it would match the rest of the construction) to hide the room at the top of the ladder. They also managed to furnish the "apartment" and provide it with (mall) electricity, so that they could, you know, have their PlayStation up there, too.

Adding to the "documentary" aspect of it all is the fact that Michael and his group videoed their adventures with a comically lo res camera that they hid (this is not a joke) in an Altoids tin, and a lot of that (pretty shoddy looking) "archival material" is here to provide background context. The "secret apartment" managed to evade discovery for an amazing four years, and once it was discovered, Michael was arrested and received a lifetime ban from the mall.

Rather interestingly for this Portland based writer, there are tethers between two "place" named malls, Providence Place and Portland's Pioneer Place, which opened about a decade before the Providence locale. Both projects were highly touted as a major step toward downtown revitalization, which they probably did help achieve, at least for a while, but both later fell into disuse and were actually both owned during various bouts of financial instability or outright bankruptcy by the same holding company. In Providence's case, the mall was acquired by new owners who actually decided to celebrate its notoriety, leading to the documentary being screened there and with a recreation of the apartment for selfie taking. Michael, the only "conspirator" charged with a crime, was granted a "pardon" and was able to come back, if not in glory, at least without handcuffs on.

Secret Mall Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Secret Mall Apartment is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Music Box Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer (mostly) in 1.78:1. This is a tale of two presentational situations, the contemporary interview and other scene setting vignettes, all of which offer crystal clarity and nice detail levels, along with a natural looking palette. As mentioned above, Michael and company actually did their own "documentation" of events courtesy of hilariously lo res cameras (which Michael mentions weren't even designed to shoot movies), and those segments are pretty shoddy looking, with rampant pixellation and macroblocking along with a number of other "quaint" video anomalies.

Secret Mall Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Secret Mall Apartment features DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 options. Frankly, the stereo option may suffice perfectly well for many, since the bulk of this feature is either talking heads or "archival" material with either very lo fi mono audio or no audio at all. The surround track therefore probably gets most of its energy from a rather charming score by Claire and Olivier Manchon. All of the contemporary spoken material is rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

Secret Mall Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Mall and the Movie (HD; 8:26) is a fun overview of the film's debut at the mall multiplex.


• Jesse Eisenberg Q & A Featurette (HD; 2:43) is a brief post screening snippet from the IFC Center.


• Theater Q & As with Director Jeremy Workman (HD; 11:36) offers more background from a session at Sag Harbor Cinema.


• On the Marquee (HD; 2:06) is a "montage across North America" documenting various exhibitions.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:19)


• Promo Compilation (HD; 4:37)


• Jesse Eisenberg Reads Letterboxd Reviews (HD; 2:16)


• Jesse Eisenberg and Michael Townsend in Conversation (HD; 25:08) is from August 2025.


• Deleted and Additional Scenes (HD; 15:20) is culled from the lo res 2003-2005 footage shot by the participants.


• Timelapse of the Recreation Set (HD; 1:04)


• Tape Art in Mobile (HD; 5:46) looks at some of Townsend's work.

Secret Mall Apartment Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Secret Mall Apartment is one of those sui generis offerings that is sweetly unique, even if some curmudgeonly types may want to gently chide some of the participants for their more outrageous behaviors in setting up shop or at least home in the mall. There's a lot of interesting content here vis a vis "urban renewal" and what it may mean, but the main story and its wacky assortment of participants is really the main draw. Technical merits are generally solid, with a contextual understanding of the archival video element, and the supplements are very appealing. Recommended.