Movies that rely on obvious means of conveying fright are criticised for utilising "cheap scares". While those that build atmosphere and tension such as this title are called "boring and nonsensical". As a charitable fan of all things horror I can appreciate everything this genre encompasses if it's executed decently. Maybe not so much when it comes to slashers and torture features.
The Lodge is a slow burner that sets an unnerving mood pretty effectively. There is a trail of breadcrumbs that although was initially slightly puzzling had the effect to keep my interest peaked right until the twist. The movie weaves ideas such as grief, resentment and trauma into a very good guessing game. Yes, it's been done before but in my opinion this time around felt better. Maybe it was because of the acting, which I really enjoyed, perhaps the choice of setting even. Or maybe due to how the pieces of the puzzle weren't made to fall into place neither forcefully nor conveniently. My biggest surprise was that the twist reveal, which happened after roughly 2 thirds of the movie, wasn't the only payoff. Instead the movie added a karmic resolution on top, that although unsettling, made absolute sense. I honestly don't know what the angry reviewers watched but they might want to keep the insults towards the directors of this movie to a minimum if they can't be objective. As for parallels to other films, honestly besides minimal similarities to Goodnight Mommy (same directors after all) I couldn't see anything else. There is also the whole "entertain multiple possibilities until the reveal" type of storytelling that I previously mentioned. Another theme The Lodge explores is the dark side of religion that could have contributed to, in my opinion, the unfairly low rating of this movie.
For me The Lodge hit the spot with its creepy atmosphere, bleak overtones and the subdued but true to the situation way of acting. Sadly these very same aspects might have displeased some viewers.
