The Lodge

Artificial, that’s the first word that comes to mind when thinking about The Lodge. From the plot to the characters to the atmosphere – perhaps it’s well made and interestingly escalated, but it couldn’t be more artificial. Every good idea is followed by several dull shots that only serve to extend the runtime without moving anything forward – compared with The Shining (with which it has several similarities), it’s very weak. But Riley Keough was very good again. 60% (05/08/2020)

This film is more so a thriller with horror elements, rather than a pure horror. The promising psychological story, set on the edge of reality, dreams and hallucinations, suffers from a slow start, followed by a gradually escalating game with anticipation, enticing a striking mysterious/horror conclusion. However, the final unravelling is surprisingly rational and grounded in reality, casting a shadow of doubt on the many coincidences and unlikely moments that occurred during the film, which played into the hands of its protagonists. The film definitely impresses with its atmosphere and its acting, and by building doubts and uncertainty, but its point is not satisfactory enough to redeem the wait for it. (07/06/2019)

From the duo Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz one could expect something similar to Goodnight Mommy and one should go into this film with that in mind. I would divide The Lodge into three parts. In the first one you will moan and yawn with boredom, at the revelation of what's going on you will sit down and slowly sink into the film, and at the end you will sigh with very mixed feelings at most, with one side of you head spinning: "Was that like everything?" and on the other with a very deep feeling of "Wow". A very good idea, just a bit insufficiently delivered, as after the first hour the film hardly gets you into the engaged mode of enjoying the rest to the fullest. The denouement is shocking, the music and the atmosphere are at times creepy, and the ending would have been great too, except that the whole first part is so unattractive and uninteresting that the final twenty minutes hardly saves it... But damn, this is going to be drilling in my head for a long time, I can't shake the feeling that some scenes are quality filmmaking and exactly my cup of tea. (10/14/2021)

I have only one problem with The Lodge and it’s very similar to the one I had with the directorial début of the duo Franz-Fiala, Goodnight Mommy, I also found it predictable. Though not after five minutes, like the previous one, but somewhere around the middle, at most, it was already clear what was happening and where it was going. And again, I’m not entirely sure whether the directors expect that the viewer already suspects the point (some of the clues are way too obvious!), or the way the cards are shown in the end is really meant as a surprise. Nevertheless, it is better than the previous film conceptually, and the horror aspect also works better; for most of the run, the psycho-horror-winter atmosphere is firing on all cylinders. On the other hand, the uncompromising fifteen minutes in the end are worth five stars. I enjoyed it, but for the next film I would like the directors to either bluff a little more ingeniously or to show their cards right from the beginning :) #KVIFF2019 (06/30/2019)

The Lodge is a well made movie from a technical point of view (the cameraman Thimios Bakatakis is a master of his art), it has a good enough horror atmosphere, an apt setting of a snowy wasteland and works well with the building suspense. However, the plot is too predictable, you can unravel the mystery leading to the plot twist relatively quickly. It did not really bother me that much, only that it maybe did not make much sense regarding what the psychological terror was supposed to achieve, and why the probable consequences were not well thought out, but I do not want to analyze it too much and I definitely do not want to reveal any spoilers. I enjoyed the movie, it is skillfully shot and Riley Keough especially is phenomenal - cute and scary all at the same time. I definitely recommend this horror movie. [KVIFF 2019] (07/01/2019)