Review:
"The Lodge"
![]() Release Date: Feb. 14, 2020
Rating: R Running Time: 108 minutes Without barely scratching the surface, directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s The Lodgeseemingly shares more in common with their directorial debut Goodnight Mommythan not. Both psychological horror films pit siblings against a woman they view as an interloper. In the decidedly nasty Goodnight Mommy, twin boys torment a woman they believe has taken the place of their mother. Designed more to disturb than disgust, The Lodge finds abrother and sister at odds with their father’s fiancée, whom they hold directly responsible for their mother’s death. Like Goodnight Mommy, The Lodgeunfolds in tense and uneasy fashion over the course of several days in a house in the middle of a snowy nowhere that is positioned as much as a pivotal character as its three occupants. And the father is not around to prevent the mayhem that occurs inside and outside the house. In The Lodge, Grace (Riley Keough) is left alone for several days before Christmas with her fiancé’s children, Aidan (It’s Jaeden Martell) and Mia (newcomer Lia McHugh). Richard (Richard Armitage) wants his kids to get to know and bond with Grace. But Aidan and Mia reject Grace for the damage they believe she has done to their family as well as for her past history as a child member of a religious cult. Then events take a bizarre turn for the worst. If you are familiar with Goodnight Mommy, you may question why Franz and Fiala would want to repeat themselves with The Lodge. And, quite frankly, The Lodge—cowritten with Sergio Casci—leaves you wondering for a significant amount of time whether it is a de factoEnglish-language remake of Goodnight Mommybut one that brings religion into the dark and twisted proceedings. In Goodnight Mommy, Franz and Fiala make clear from the start that the twins are torturing the woman to determine whether she is an imposter. In The Lodge, it is unclear whether Aidan and Mia are behind the strange goings on that threaten to push the already emotionally fragile Grace over the edge. Franz and Fiala turn the screws tightly to the point that you are unsure whether the events are the work of human hands or a malevolent force that can be traced back to Grace’s horrifying experiences with the cult. Riley Keough slowly and efficiently mines Grace’s childhood trauma to fuel her gradual descent into madness. While the source of Grace’s psychological and emotional pain can be traced back to the belief system imposed on her at an early age, The Lodgeis not a screed against religion but a carefully constructed and well-reasoned indictment of religious fanaticism. But Franz and Fiala are just as concerned about examining the awkward dynamic that is created when a biological parent attempts to force their children and a potential stepparent to interactive without first laying the proper groundwork. The Lodgedoes not pass judgment on Aidan and Mia’s refusal to welcome Grace with open arms. They are thrust into a no-win situation by their father, who seems less concerned about their well-being than by marrying Grace without any significant drama. To this end, Jaeden Martell and Lia McHugh both display obvious and valid open hostility toward Grace, but they also know how to scaled back their dislike and distrust of Grace to order to maintain the mystery that envelopes The Lodge. It certainly helps that they are all trapped in a sinister abode that any malignant entity would enjoy calling home. Outside, the snow that surrounds the isolated house only further serves to keep Grace and the children trapped indoors for fear of meeting a cold and merciless death. Whether the demons that haunt Grace are real or psychological makes no difference to Franz and Fiala. Their goal now as it was before is to see how much they torture can inflict on the wrongly accused. UnlikeGoodnight Mommy, though, Franz and Fiala use The Lodgeto see what happens if and when the subject of their torment completely and utterly breaks. The outcome is chilling to behold, even if The Lodge feels to hauntingly familiar for comfort. Robert Sims Aired: Feb. 13, 2020 Web site: https://www.thelodgemov.com |
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