The Lodgers (2017)

October 24, 2018 8:45 AM

1920, rural Ireland. Anglo-Irish twins Rachel and Edward share a strange existence in their crumbling family estate. Each night, the property becomes the domain of a sinister presence which enforces three rules upon the twins: they must be in bed by midnight; they may not permit an outsider past the threshold; and if one attempts to escape, the life of the other is placed in jeopardy. Rachel grows skeptical and begins to rebel, desperate to escape the oppression and misery of their captivity.

From Brian O'Malley, the director of Let Us Prey, which you should totally see if you haven't.

55% fresh on RT, which sounds about right.

posted by DirtyOldTown (4 comments total)

I think I checked out when Rachel sort of carelessly lingered in the bathroom, right before midnight, but then the ghosts cheat and start messing with her earlier than midnight anyway. Did you really need this peril scene so bad, movie?

It's often pretty though. It does present its aesthetic pretty well and that's mostly all it sets out to do.
posted by fleacircus at 1:23 PM on October 24, 2018 [2 favorites]

Yeah, I really had high hopes because of how much I enjoyed Let Us Prey. But O'Malley and company really do focus on the atmosphere and look above most everything else. You get the feeling they came upon a great premise and worked hard to make it look and feel just right... but did not devote similar attention to the mechanics of plot.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 1:50 PM on October 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm not sure what they were trying to do with the brother... He was too creepy to be pitiful, but it seemed like they really wanted him to be pitiful. Were we supposed to see him as being controlled by all the ghosts? Were we supposed to excuse him trying to rape his sister?
posted by meese at 8:00 AM on October 27, 2018

Bill Milner, who plays the creepy brother, also played young Magneto in the concentration camp prologue to X-Men First Class and plays Jeremy in Apostle.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:20 AM on October 27, 2018 [1 favorite]