I'm off to a quick start today getting this review going. As I said in my last review, I've had some personal things going on for the last couple of weeks that was making it hard to focus on writing reviews. Now all that is behind me, I'm hoping that writing will help me move past it on some degree. At least, that is my hope. Even though I was pretty tired last night, I wanted to watch a movie. I stayed up kind of late in order to do so, but I did manage to watch The Lodgers (2017) on Netflix's instant watch. This is a movie that has been making some lists on best horror on Netflix, so I was curious about it. I had actually added it to my watch list before it started to make it on some lists, so I knew I was on the right track with it.
Set in the year 1920 in Ireland, Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner) are twin siblings who are turning 18 and live on their own. Their parents died and they have been living off of a trust fund that is in trouble. Rachel will go into the nearby town to get supplies now and then and has dreams of getting away from the house that they live in. Edward has not left the house since discovering that their parents died and seems resigned to their fate of never leaving the house. There is a family secret that has spanned many generations that Rachel feels has tainted her and Edward. There is something in the house that keeps the two there. It protects the two but it has three rules to follow. Be in bed by midnight. Never allow a stranger into the house. Never leave the other all alone. Rachel and Edward fear whatever is in the house with them, but when Rachel meets Sean (Eugene Simon), her desire to leave becomes even stronger.
The Lodgers was written by David Turpin and directed by Brian O'Malley. This is a film from Ireland. The Lodgers is the second full-length film by O'Malley. I have not watched his first film, so this makes an introduction of sorts to his films for me. If I could say one thing about O'Malley it would be that he can certainly create some interesting visuals. That was honestly the highlight of this movie. I wasn't really impressed with the story, but the house is creepy and the Lodgers, whatever they are supposed to be, can be kind of creepy at times as well. It was also cool what O'Malley does with water in this movie. I found the story to be just okay though. It is clear from the start that something is going on in the house. Rachel realizes it is almost midnight and rushes back to the house in order to be in her room by the stroke of midnight at the start of the film. From there we get a bit of a battle between Rachel and Edward because Rachel wants to live her life away from the rules set onto her. As Rachel tries to find herself, Edward closes himself off more. I didn't mind all of this at all. It was interesting to watch Rachel trying to come into her own, but I never understood what it is the Lodgers do. They get rather pissy when the rules are broken and kind of haunt the two when this happens. What I never understood though is what the Lodgers do for Rachel and Edward. We are told that they protect the two kids...but how exactly? They don't seem to provide anything. The money that Rachel spends comes from a trust fund. She seems to buy everything the two of them needs to get by. The two take care of anyone that seems to threaten them in their own ways. The lawyer over the trust pays them a visit and both Rachel and Edward deal with the guy. So what exactly do the Lodgers provide? The only example I could find is when some guys start messing with Rachel and a gate locks itself after she closes it. Easy to assume the Lodgers did this somehow, but what was funny is the guys don't bother to try the lock. They could have just reached through the gate and unlocked it but they just seem to accept they have been locked out and move on. The two siblings only seem to serve one purpose for the Lodgers, their eventual death. It just would have been nice if the story had shown better examples of the working relationship going on between the two parties. I also thought that the weirdness of it all was a bit overplayed at times. I don't mind weird things happen, I can rather enjoy it in fact, but at times it felt like things were weird just to be weird.
If you watch horror movies for gory effects, you will just have to look elsewhere. There is just barely any blood to be found here actually. All the effects just help enhance visuals. I couldn't tell if the Lodgers are CGI only or people with makeup or a combo of the two. Edward's face did seem to go demonic almost for a quick second in one scene, but that was about the extent of effects. They all look good though, so there is that. The acting was also good. I liked Charlotte Vega in the lead role here. Although her character doesn't have a good home life, she seems well balanced and strong-willed all the same. Nothing against the way that Eugene Simon acted out his part felt almost too shy at times. I could understand some scenes like this, like when Sean shows Rachel his war injury. I guess I was just expecting a stronger character for someone who went through a war and stood up for women around him.
Some didn't like the character of Rachel, finding her to be cold. I think she had to be that way though. As the only one of the two willing to go out to get things, she couldn't exactly make friends. It wouldn't be good to have people knocking on the door looking for her since strangers were not allowed in the house. How do you keep people from liking you? Act cold towards them and they generally get the hint. If people couldn't tell it was a front for Rachel, then I don't know what to tell them. The Lodgers has a good vibe around it. It could be creepy at times, but I just felt the story could have been better than what we got. It is hardly bad, just could have been a lot better. If you like slow movies that rely on its setting and weird things, you may just be in for a treat. The Lodgers isn't for everyone, but I do believe there are plenty of people that will love it.
3 out of 5 I have never woke up wet like that before
Set in the year 1920 in Ireland, Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner) are twin siblings who are turning 18 and live on their own. Their parents died and they have been living off of a trust fund that is in trouble. Rachel will go into the nearby town to get supplies now and then and has dreams of getting away from the house that they live in. Edward has not left the house since discovering that their parents died and seems resigned to their fate of never leaving the house. There is a family secret that has spanned many generations that Rachel feels has tainted her and Edward. There is something in the house that keeps the two there. It protects the two but it has three rules to follow. Be in bed by midnight. Never allow a stranger into the house. Never leave the other all alone. Rachel and Edward fear whatever is in the house with them, but when Rachel meets Sean (Eugene Simon), her desire to leave becomes even stronger.
The Lodgers was written by David Turpin and directed by Brian O'Malley. This is a film from Ireland. The Lodgers is the second full-length film by O'Malley. I have not watched his first film, so this makes an introduction of sorts to his films for me. If I could say one thing about O'Malley it would be that he can certainly create some interesting visuals. That was honestly the highlight of this movie. I wasn't really impressed with the story, but the house is creepy and the Lodgers, whatever they are supposed to be, can be kind of creepy at times as well. It was also cool what O'Malley does with water in this movie. I found the story to be just okay though. It is clear from the start that something is going on in the house. Rachel realizes it is almost midnight and rushes back to the house in order to be in her room by the stroke of midnight at the start of the film. From there we get a bit of a battle between Rachel and Edward because Rachel wants to live her life away from the rules set onto her. As Rachel tries to find herself, Edward closes himself off more. I didn't mind all of this at all. It was interesting to watch Rachel trying to come into her own, but I never understood what it is the Lodgers do. They get rather pissy when the rules are broken and kind of haunt the two when this happens. What I never understood though is what the Lodgers do for Rachel and Edward. We are told that they protect the two kids...but how exactly? They don't seem to provide anything. The money that Rachel spends comes from a trust fund. She seems to buy everything the two of them needs to get by. The two take care of anyone that seems to threaten them in their own ways. The lawyer over the trust pays them a visit and both Rachel and Edward deal with the guy. So what exactly do the Lodgers provide? The only example I could find is when some guys start messing with Rachel and a gate locks itself after she closes it. Easy to assume the Lodgers did this somehow, but what was funny is the guys don't bother to try the lock. They could have just reached through the gate and unlocked it but they just seem to accept they have been locked out and move on. The two siblings only seem to serve one purpose for the Lodgers, their eventual death. It just would have been nice if the story had shown better examples of the working relationship going on between the two parties. I also thought that the weirdness of it all was a bit overplayed at times. I don't mind weird things happen, I can rather enjoy it in fact, but at times it felt like things were weird just to be weird.
If you watch horror movies for gory effects, you will just have to look elsewhere. There is just barely any blood to be found here actually. All the effects just help enhance visuals. I couldn't tell if the Lodgers are CGI only or people with makeup or a combo of the two. Edward's face did seem to go demonic almost for a quick second in one scene, but that was about the extent of effects. They all look good though, so there is that. The acting was also good. I liked Charlotte Vega in the lead role here. Although her character doesn't have a good home life, she seems well balanced and strong-willed all the same. Nothing against the way that Eugene Simon acted out his part felt almost too shy at times. I could understand some scenes like this, like when Sean shows Rachel his war injury. I guess I was just expecting a stronger character for someone who went through a war and stood up for women around him.
Some didn't like the character of Rachel, finding her to be cold. I think she had to be that way though. As the only one of the two willing to go out to get things, she couldn't exactly make friends. It wouldn't be good to have people knocking on the door looking for her since strangers were not allowed in the house. How do you keep people from liking you? Act cold towards them and they generally get the hint. If people couldn't tell it was a front for Rachel, then I don't know what to tell them. The Lodgers has a good vibe around it. It could be creepy at times, but I just felt the story could have been better than what we got. It is hardly bad, just could have been a lot better. If you like slow movies that rely on its setting and weird things, you may just be in for a treat. The Lodgers isn't for everyone, but I do believe there are plenty of people that will love it.
3 out of 5 I have never woke up wet like that before
