Release Date: February 23, 2018 (Limited and VOD Platforms)
Director: Brian O’Malley
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 92 Minutes
In a drastic departure from his blood-drenched supernatural thriller Let Us Pray, Brian O’Malley’s follow-up, The Lodgers, is a beautiful, subdued, gothic horror film that’s light on blood and guts but heavy in atmosphere and dread.
Set in 1920s Ireland, the film follows the lives of Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and her twin brother, Edward (Bill Milner), as they come of age alone in their family’s sprawling estate, which has become wrought with disrepair. There’s a mysterious history behind the house and the family, one that appears to be a curse passed down, generation to generation, in which the living occupy the house by day and the dead are free to roam the grounds at night.
Although Edward seems to accept his inevitable fate, Rachel rages against the curse and forms a relationship with a neighbor named Sean (Eugene Simon), a veteran who recently made his return home from the war after losing a leg, in hopes that he will rescue her from her eminent demise.
O’Malley keeps the family’s secret close to the chest for most of the runtime, though the mystery isn’t deep or interesting enough to really keep audiences guessing for too long. Why Edward looks like he already has one foot in the grave and what really happened to their parents are inquiries that may start to nag, but as slight as they may be, the outcome is far less compelling. It doesn’t help that Edward’s presence is so grating that I was begging for him to just fulfill whatever this curse was so I wouldn’t have to deal with him any longer.
It’s a moody piece, but for all its gothic atmosphere, The Lodgers fails to deliver a narrative that results in anything more than forgettable. The scares are few and far between, and while they prove to be visually arresting, the floating, naked ghouls and water effects will no doubt rattle only the most aquaphobic of viewers.
Thankfully, it’s these visual flourishes that keep The Lodgers from boring one to sleep. The rotting interior of the once-lavish home with its overgrown foliage juxtaposed with the small, working-class village nearby makes for an excellent backdrop to explore some classic gothic horror themes.
Strong visuals alone can’t save The Lodgers from being a dreadfully average and dull horror experience however, and although my ears perk up anytime I hear about a new entry into this subgenre that sees far too few contemporary releases, this is one I have suggest viewers pass on.
