The Lodgers

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

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.

In Ireland, in the 20´s, the twins Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner) live in a dilapidated manor in the estate that belongs to their family. They believe the place is haunted and follow three rules of survival: they must be in bed by midnight; they may not allow a stranger to cross the threshold; and they must stay together. When they are eighteen, their tutor and lawyer Bermingham (David Bradley) advises that they must sell the real estate since their trust fund is exhausted but Edward is reluctant to leave the property. When Rachel is flirted by the handicapped soldier Sean (Eugene Simon) that returned from the war to his family house at the nearby village, she feels a great attraction and breaks the rules imposed by The Lodgers with tragic consequences.

"The Lodgers" is a melancholic Irish ghost story with a wonderful cinematography. The non-commercial story has ambiguous interpretation until the conclusion when the truth about the place and the twins is disclosed. The plot is developed at a slow pace and has no gore, and maybe this is the reason to have negative reviews. However it is worthwhile watching by fans of ghost stories. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): Not Available

The Lodgers is absolutely beautiful, but even the most gorgeous cinematography can't make up for a lacking story, which this movie undoubtedly has. The film started out alright with an intriguing opening scene and subtle creepiness to grab your attention. I was fully engaged for the first half and again, the atmosphere and cinematography is absolutely everything you could want for gothic horror, but the movie fails miserably in trying to explain the reason behind anything. There is vague mention of why (but not how) this "curse" began but no reason is given as to why it has to continue. So I felt pretty unsatisfied by the end. It's a shame because at first it seemed like it was going to be quite impressive. It's still not a terrible movie to watch on a gloomy day, just nothing to write home about.

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