Movie: The Lodgers (2017)

Like I said, I've been catching up with friends by going to the movies, and I heard about The Lodgers coming to The Screening Room and thought this would be a good gothic film to see on the big screen. The Screening Room is a hidden gem in Buffalo, NY that shows foreign, classic, cult, and independent movies in a casual cafe setting. It's really my favorite place to go ~ bonus ~ they serve beer and wine. 

When our small group arrived, we were greeted by a fellow named Chris that was giving out posters for the movie. He was a representative from Dread Central that brought this First Run movie to this particular theater. I had high hopes for The Lodgers, it's rare to have an independent horror movie with a person providing an intro! Sadly, the story was a meh for me, but I did talk to him afterwards and he said he's going to try to get other movies featured at The Screening Room, so that sounds promising.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

When I first saw the trailer all I could think of was it's a combination of The Others (2001) and Crimson Peak (2015), but is wasn't. The story is about eccentric twins, a brother and sister, that live in a decrepit estate where they are cursed to live by rules passed down from their dead parents. Ex. Be in bed by midnight, don't let strangers in the house etc. The house even "talks" to them in creaks and groans.

There's a trap door at the bottom of their entryway stairs in the mansion, that hints at being a sinister wet hole, but it's a reverse dimension that the revenant family members dwell in.  (Think the Upside Down in Stranger Things.) They haunt the house at night enforcing the rules.

We come to find out that their parents, and the parents before them, and before them back through time were all twins living as married couples and having twin kids. So it's about incest. The male twin, Edward, witnessed his parents drowning when he was young. His father drowned his mother because she didn't want to live that way anymore. This really left a stain on his life, he's a recluse that hasn't left the house since. There's a darkness in him (and not in a sexy goth way). In the meantime his sister Rachael, is his caregiver, but she wants to get out of the house and break the cycle. She falls for a man from the village and this suitor tries to free her from the curse. I won't give more away, but there are some uncomfortable scenes where her brother is constantly trying to make out with her.

(Why is that statue facing inwards? that bugged me.)

There is no doubt The Lodgers is atmospheric. The scenes in the woods and surrounding the house are dreamlike. It was filmed in Ireland's "most haunted house" Loftus Hall. Even Rachael's costuming reminds me of Little Red Riding Hood, but in this case her cape is dark green. The incest is represented when the film pans over the empty beds and bedrooms thoughout the movie. The story is where the movie lacks. It needs a better plot, there's a lot going on that's disjointed when it comes to the horror aspect. Overall I give it 3.5 out of 5 dips in the lake.

Here's the trailer...