The Lodge

Directed by Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, The Lodge follows Richard Armitage’s Richard Hall as he takes his fiancee (Riley Keough’s Grace) and two children (Jaeden Martell’s Aidan and Lia McHugh as Mia) to a remote cabin to spend Christmas – with strange happenings occurring after Richard leaves Aidan and Mia in the care of an increasingly unhinged Grace. Filmmakers Franz and Fiala offer up a gripping opening stretch, with this vibe heightened by a genuinely shocking occurrence, that segues into a deliberate yet promising first half, although, as becomes clear, The Lodge suffers from an exceedingly (and excessively) deliberate midsection that pushes the slow-burn aesthetic well past its breaking point – with the distressingly hands-off atmosphere compounded by a fairly unwelcome emphasis on Grace’s crumbling mental state (ie there’s an is-this-real-or-is-it-just-in-her-head vibe here that grows more and more tiresome). It’s clear, then, that The Lodge benefits substantially from Keough’s striking performance and an ongoing smattering of admittedly unsettling images and interludes, and there’s little doubt, as well, that the movie’s electrifying conclusion ensures that the whole thing ends on an unexpectedly enthralling note – which ultimately confirms the picture’s place as a periodically compelling yet predominantly ineffective horror effort that could’ve been so much better. (A shorter running time would’ve helped, undoubtedly.)

** out of ****