The Lodgers

Gothic apparently equals dull in the minds of the filmmakers who created this yawner.

Blah blah blah Ireland. Blah blah blah Ghosts Blah blah blah Something happens. Unfortunately for the viewer that something is 85 minutes after you stopped caring. Could have been a lot better if it had been a lot faster paced and scarier. It isn't and it wasn't.

On the surface, The Lodgers is a gorgeous gothic tale reminiscent of Edgar Allen Poe or classic Hammer Horror Production. Between the haunting estate or its eerily enchanting woods, you'll want to love the macabre romance of it all. The first half of the film will reel you along, making you wonder: "What potentially Lovecraftian terror dwells under the house? Who haunts this family? What the hell is going on?"

Unfortunately, as The Lodgers very tediously reveals BITS of information, you feel the spell lifting. Through the pseudo-intellectual rambling of its lead character ("Love! Love can be worse than hate!") and frustratingly vague expositions, you'll realize that the world above is so much more interesting than the mysterious lake and basement below.

In its final minutes, The Lodgers gives its viewers a passionless conclusion to a very underdeveloped mystery. This movie had SO much potential, and it's really tragic this genre of horror has had so little traffic in the past few decades. That said, it's still a beautiful looking tale worth the watch for fans of gothic horror and the Victorian aesthetic. Don't expect much in terms of storytelling, however.

As the title of this review states, the film had several things going for it. The location was amazing, the acting very good and the atmosphere that the film created was very effective.

However, in terms of story and horror the film just did not deliver. It never lifted itself to reach any satisfying level after the promising start. The mythology it eventually revealed was stupid. Boring.

I am very forgiving of horror films and I so much wanted to love this after the first few minutes drew me in. But it was unlovable.

The Lodgers is an Irish made horror which looks like a Hollywood movie complete with production values and standard genre flaws.

It tells the tale of a brother & sister living in a mysterious house who must follow certain rules to not upset a supernatural entity that appears to be present within the same walls.

It's bleak, it's moody and truth be told it really isn't that interesting. Though it certainly looks the part there isn't much of value to see!

Starring Game of Thrones stars David Bradley & Eugene Simon by the time the movie goes anywhere it's pretty much over already. It's a slow burn with no payoff and the journey is uninteresting and lifeless.

Visually a triumph for Irish cinema, on every other level a complete failure.

The Good:

Looks great

Couple of interesting ideas

The Bad:

Lifeless

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Horror movies with a coherent plot are few and far between

People in movies can hold their breath for considerably longer than the real world

Has an interesting premise but fails to develop it further thus ultimately falling short of being engaging & entertaining. Overall it was a bit dull