THE LODGE Review
As the 2010’s have given way to the chaotic 2020’s, one wonders how much more the horror genre will bask in the glory of the slow-burn, vaguely arthouse aesthetic that has increased in popularity amongst those smaller indie horror flicks. Relying purely on eye-catching cinematography and stories that slowly but surely unravel into horror (usually tinged with some kind of humanistic hang-up), these horror films, especially those coming from the production studio of A24, have provided a breath of fresh air. Even so, fatigue of this type of horror film may just be starting to set in for this reviewer or maybe the movies are becoming more similar? In either case, Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz’s THE LODGE undoubtedly falls into this “slow burn, arthouse-ish” sub-genre of horror and while more than competently composed, the characteristics of the sub-genre nonetheless hold it back from becoming truly unique or horrific.
Not that the film doesn’t try. From the first frame (which begins in a coincidentally HEREDITARY-esque dollhouse), an air of unseen malice associated with religious imagery emits from the film as the audience is introduced to the Hall family in the midst of a separation that quickly turns violent and tragic. This tragedy leaves siblings Mia and Aiden (Lia McHugh and Jaeden Martell, respectively) mourning with their father Richard (Richard Armitage), who in a desperate attempt to bring some life back to their strained familial bondage, decides to take the kids to their isolated wintry getaway in Northeastern Massachusetts. However, Dad also decides to bring along his new girlfriend Grace (Riley Keough), a (much) younger woman who he met while investigating a Christian suicide cult that she was the sole survivor of. Romantic meet-cutes aside, the kids more or less hate the quiet Grace and the unspoken motherly hole she is expected to fill in their lives but even so, Richard insists that a remote vacation that strands them together will work wonders to improve their feelings towards one another.
However, as with any good-intentioned (but poorly thought out) ploy to get strangers to like one another in an isolated setting, this plan begins to backfire as soon as the “family” arrives at the eponymous lodge. With its darkened corridors and vast rooms filled with a variety of other Christian themed totems, the place feels like a darkened temple to the Halls and a sordid reminder of tragedy to Grace; in other words, it’s the perfect vacay spot! To make matters worse, Richard is soon asked to retreat back to the city for work, leaving Grace alone with the kids sparking off an awkward battle of the wills that soon begins to take increasingly dark, possibly supernatural, turns as cabin fever sets in. Indeed, THE LODGE is in some ways very similar to that of John Carpenter’s THE THING (which is literally watched by Grace and the children at one point in the film) as both films deal with the scenario of people trapped in an secluded wintry setting slowly turning on each other. However, where THE THING has shape-shifting aliens causing trouble, THE LODGE deals with the sole undefeated villian that is the paranoid and jealous human mind. And maybe ghosts. But mostly just the fractured human mind, especially that of Grace, who as a victim of a cult and a further victim to the coldness of the Hall children finds herself falling apart at the seams.
For her part, Keough does a well enough job displaying this fractured woman, effectively allowing her glossy eyes to put on a look of an emotionally subdued woman slowly moving ever closer to the cliff of insanity. But Franz and Fiala never go deeper with their portrayal of Grace, a character who is essentially just another broad portrayal of a traumatized woman going crazy as they settle with having Grace be soft-spoken in her “normal” moments and glossy-eyed and dazed in her “crazed” ones. Where the filmmakers find better, more intriguing ground is in the Hall children, who with trauma of their own, disturbingly switch from sympathetic cherubs to off-putting hellions further putting Grace (and the audience) in the off balanced position of deciding if all of the dark events that are taking place are something paranormal or something much more closer to home. As the Hall children, both Mr. Martell and Ms. McHugh do good work displaying their two sides, effectively selling their heartbreaking tears as much as they do with their viciously barbed attacks at Grace.
Despite their attempts at creating a world that may not be what it seems, Fiala and Franz settle with a rather conventional (if nevertheless dark) conclusion that makes the rest of the previous film seem kind of pointless,broad religious imagery and themes aside. Knowing that, the film takes on more of a fable-like feeling as Fiala and Franz seem to take an almost masochistic glee in seeing their characters get their comeuppance for their sins and misdeeds. Despite that potentially devilish glee with an overall broad story, THE LODGE creates an always compelling visual aura of uneasiness and tension thanks in large part to cinematographer Thimios Bakatakis’ icy and uneasy imagery that gives the film a very European style and finesse that is lacking in most English language horror films. While the visual look feels very much like any other A24 picture (even if this film hails from the production company, Hammer Films) it is nonetheless a very effective choice in displaying a slow burn horror such as this, with every slow pan and dolly further adding to the film’s airtight feelings of paranoia.
Despite its attempts, THE LODGE never goes beyond its familiar sub-genre trappings but with a tight handle on atmosphere and an overall stellar production value, Fiala and Franz’s film has its moments of memorable dread and terror.
3.5/5
