The Lodge

The Lodge
Starring Riley Keough, Jaeden Martell, Lia McHugh, Richard Armitage
Directed by Steverin Fiala & Veronika Franz

The horror genre is wide open as to how they manage to tell a story to really terrify you.  Some have no real story and rely solely on jump scares to make you gasp, which moreso is used to make sure you're still awake.  Others use CGI or practical effects to bring to life some of our worst nightmares onto the big screen in ways that were previously unheard of.  Then there's those horror films that rely on atmosphere and a slow burn that builds and builds to its ultimately satisfying and terrifying climax.  "The Lodge" is the latter, a film that doesn't rely on jump scares or CGI to terrify you, but rather use very realistic, plausible events that could happen to pretty much anyone to incite fear and dread in the viewer from the first frame to the last.

Six months after their mother died, Aidan (Jaeden Martell) and Mia (Lia McHugh) aren't too happy to learn that their father Richard (Richard Armitage) has planned a trip with them and his new girlfriend Grace (Riley Keough) to their lodge in the mountains to spend the holidays together.  The kids learn that when she was a child, Grace was the only survivor of a Christian cult who took their lives, leaving her behind to tell their story, but now she wants nothing to do with anything religious or spiritual, which serves to be a problem as the family is devoutly Catholic and the lodge is inundated with religious symbols.  When Richard has to return home for business, Grace decides to spend some quality time with the kids, but it seems that someone - or something - has a different agenda, and the three find themselves facing the elements, their pasts, and mistrust as they struggle to survive.

Directors Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz delivered a truly terrifying small masterpiece in "Goodnight Mommy," and return to their wheelhouse with "The Lodge," as both films focus on the struggling family dynamic and the innate fears that are associated with it.  In "Goodnight Mommy," young brothers are wary of their mother, who underwent extensive surgery and now is covered with gauze, and doesn't think she's their mother anymore.  "The Lodge" is more realistic in the oft-telling story of the wannabe stepmother trying to fit in with a new family, and the struggles that inherently lie within, but both films terrifically blends these issues with lingering senses of dread. 

The film focuses on this dysfunctional family solely, taking place almost entirely in the mysterious lodge, which looks more like a suburban home than a typical mountain lodge.  It relies heavily on the performances, and this is where Riley Keough shines.  Generally, you'd think Grace was the bad guy in the film, a wannabe mother figure muscling in on a family who's still grieving and taking the role of the mother, but she herself has a very shady past that comes back to literally haunt her.  Her father led a Christian cult that committed mass suicide, leaving her behind to tell the tale, but the events have scarred her so badly she can't even look at religious symbols without terrifying memories flooding her senses.  At first you can see her struggling with her inner demons, but as the film progresses you see Grace slowly losing her grip on reality, especially after all her stuff seemingly disappear, and she accuses the kids of taking them, but it might not be that simple.  Eventually you see Grace become totally monotone and flat, a shell of a person that once existed, and that's due in no small part to Keough's tremendous performance.

"The Lodge" relies on atmospheric scares and images that may or may not be real to stimulate your senses and leave you with your own sense of confusion, much like Grace experiences in the film.  You don't know what's real, what's made up, and what's in-between until it's too late, and you're never sure which side is good, and which side is evil - or even if there's such cut-and-dry comparisons at all.  It's dizzying in its storytelling, but grounded in a sense of reality that keeps you balanced while also on your toes, unaware of what's coming next.

Apart from Keough's performance, "The Lodge" is heightened by the lodge itself, and the stunning cinematography by Thimios Bakatakis.  The film is reminiscent of "Hereditary" in the idea that both films focus on a dollhouse setting, and then taking that dollhouse and re-creating it for humans.  The lodge is narrow, tight, close, and claustrophobic, and the camera angles beautifully make you feel like you're watching real-life dolls in the house, but these aren't plastic, but people.  It's haunting and unnerving, and unlike "Goodnight Mommy," the setting is very tense, dark, and classic (whereas "Goodnight Mommy"'s house is ultra modern, with white walls and a multitude of windows).  Bakatakis makes you feel like the lodge is purely cold, using darker hues and using the outside winter wonderland to paint something that's entirely not wonderful, but something that makes you feel totally trapped in the setting.  Its haunting and memorable, and only serve to propel the story forward to its shocking and unforgettable conclusion.

Using its setting to its full effect, "The Lodge" serves as a tense, dark, atmospheric horror film that's empowered by Riley Keough's performance and intelligent script that keeps the viewer on their toes from start to finish, providing an unrelenting feeling of dread.

The Score: A+