Review: The Lodgers
By Paurush Kumar | Mar 6 2018
Director: Brian O’MalleyWriter: David TurpinStarring: Charlotte Vega, Bill Milner, Eugene Simon, and Moe DunfordRelease Date: 9th MarchIrish horror specialist, Brian O’Malley follows 2014’s Let Us Prey with a less than scary new entry. The film attempts to scare you but ends up just being a rather uncomfortable watch because of certain explicit scenes. Having said that, the film, set in rural 1920 Ireland, is visually gorgeous.Leading protagonist Charlotte Vega as Rachel is expressive through her eyes and impressive in her actions. Truth be told, it is her alone that keeps the film alive. Eugene Simon as Sean and Bill Milner as Edward are promising, but do not match Vega’s level of expression. David Bradley as the family lawyer, Bermingham, is amazing onscreen but sadly has a small part to play.Leading protagonist Charlotte Vega as Rachel is expressive through her eyes and impressive in her actions.
The visual effects of the film are perfect, however they are somewhat underappreciated due to a screenplay that is highly pretentious and gloomy. Despite an average runtime of 92 minutes, the film still feels unnecessarily long.The background score is very loud and, at times, kills the atmosphere the film tries to create. Writer David Turpin has attempted to weave a cursed family fate movie but ends up writing the generic cursed family story with a historical background. He does little to expand his creative boundaries or add to the genre.The story is highly underwhelming and it seems that neither the director nor the writer took any extra efforts to uplift the content of the film. The narrative is highly predictable for the viewer and after a certain point it tests the viewer’s patience. The plot seems to lose all focus, going nowhere in the latter half. Apart from these follies, the cinematography and the visual effects of the film standout from the mediocrity of the plot.The Lodgers disappoints on many levels, succeeding only on a few. It is more of a moody, historical drama than a horror film. The film is less spooky and more uncomfortable to watch. After the first 20 minutes, the viewer can easily tell where the film is headed.In a Nutshell: The Lodgers is neither spooky nor horrific, it is rather an uncomfortable watch due to certain explicit scenes.