The Lodgers is a 2018 horror film about Anglo Irish twins who share a strange existence in their crumbling family estate that becomes the domain of a sinister presence.
Gothic horror is an interesting genre with a rabid following, a decidedly dark breed of sinister that never tries to sustain any sense of reality, more driven by its themes and fable-like potential. At least with the best of them. Director Brian O’Malley‘s latest is a taste of such, an uncompromising slice of gothic madness that works hard to pull us into its richly developed atmosphere, and while it has its flaws, succeeds mostly because it does so.
In 1920, orphaned twin siblings Edward (Bill Milner) and Rachel (Charlotte Vega) live alone and isolated in a vast delipidated mansion far into the Irish countryside about to celebrate their eighteenth birthdays. They have little to look forward to but are bound to the home by a force within that binds them to cruel rules where no others are allowed to enter and they must be in their rooms by midnight. If one tries to escape, harm befalls the other. However, when Rachel meets Sean (Eugene Simon), a war vet with a wooden leg who take a shine to the introverted girl, she begins to take risks, thinking there could be a better life beyond her captivity. This weighs heavy on Edward, though debts further burden the pair and things become all the more grim.
O’Malley doesn’t waste any time in establishing the threat that lies at the core of The Lodgers, beginning with the panicked twins quickly scampering to their rooms as a thick black water begins to seep from a hatch at the bottom of the stairs. This early reveal lingers in the long scenes that follow, introducing the limited cast and rural setting where it makes clear that the twins are clearly drifting apart. In fact, there is quite a bit that leaves us questioning what is happening, meant to lure us into the snare of the second half when we learn where it’s all heading.
As the two debate the option to sell and leave, the stress of what ‘they’ will do if that happens keeps much of this story on edge, as themes of sexual awakening and loyalty emerge. This is textbook slow burn as O’Malley, working from a script by David Turpin commits much to how it feels, the film a wonder of set design and mood. I won’t reveal what lives in the cellar of the twin’s abandoned estate, but they are an angry lot that has had profound effect on the brother and sister. Their presence is constant, even if they themselves are rarely seen.
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Obviously, much of this feels metaphorical and O’Malley can’t help but fall into a few of the traditional trappings of the genre with plenty of mostly well-earned jump scares and very creepy imagery. The house is a morbidly greyish haven of haunts that offers plenty of satisfying chills, even if it never quite rings authentic, a choice certainly of design. Much like the limited horror work of Oz Perkins, it is the suggestion of something in the shadows rather than the look of it that bleeds much of the fear into this story. O’Malley’s greatest strength is his use of imagery and visual storytelling, keeping this, at its center, a horror film, but also a deeply symbolic tale with much to say for those willing to look beyond the monsters in the dark.