The Lodge looked weird and creepy in it trailers. I’m still not the biggest fan of horror movies, but I’m starting to make exceptions for the weird and creepy ones, so seeing The Lodge just seemed like something I would probably end up doing.
Well, I did. And it was creepy and weird. But was it good?
After a brief prologue setting up some emotional conflicts, we get to the main crux of the plot. Richard (Richard Armitage) is driving his new fiancee Grace (Riley Keough), son Aidan (Jaeden Martell), and daughter Mia (Lia McHugh) out to a remote family lodge for a Christmas stay. Someone, probably Richard, thought it would be a good idea for his kids and Grace to get to know each other out there on his own while he went to work for a few days, intending to return for Christmas.
However, this is obviously a terrible idea. Grace experienced some childhood trauma as part of a Christian cult run by her father. The kids, for their part, don’t like Grace for a number of reasons that aren’t related to her trauma. Leaving the three of them alone is not going to go well, and the only person who doesn’t see that is Richard.
It should be worth noting that the movie never says specifically what Richard does for a living or how he met Grace, but the movie seems to suggest in a few details he is a psychiatrist of some kind and Grace may have been one of his patients, so doing stupid and inappropriate things isn’t exactly something he just started doing. If the movie has a villain, it’s him.
But what follows gets worse when a blizzard snows Grace and the kids in at the cabin, and there were already some odd things happening before then. Grace may not be very well, and the distaste the children, particularly Aidan, feel for her isn’t going to make things any easier for any of them. So, when things get strange, how can these three get through this, particularly Grace with her mental health issues?
This movie isn’t the standard the typical horror movie. It’s a slow burn, working off atmosphere to create a psychological effect on the viewer. Everything that happens is due to character-based decisions and psychology. It helps that Keough gives a fantastic performance. Alternating between frightened and frightening, she sells the part well. Grace is the central character here, and Keough is a great anchor for this film. From the very beginning, the movie only gradually brings Grace into focus, quite literally at times. Her psychological trauma is what drives the movie, so it only makes sense that the movie is as good as Keough’s performance.
As it is, the movie is more eerie than scary. Until the final scene, it’s more of a mystery of what’s going on in Grace’s head than anything else, and when we do get to the end, it leaves a disturbing impression that works based on everything that came before. That said, it is a bit slow getting started, so patience is recommended on this one.
Grade: B-
0 Comments