[yasr_overall_rating]
A family curse confines orphaned twins Rachel and Edwards to their home as punishment for their ancestors’ sins. Bound to the rules of a haunting childhood lullaby, the twins must never let any outsiders inside the house, must be in their rooms by the chime of midnight, and must never be separated from one another. Breaking any of these rules will incur the wrath of a sinister presence that inhabits the house after midnight.
Old-world Ireland in the 1920s comes alive in “The Lodgers,” directed by Brian O’Malley. Twins Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner) fill the screen with taut emotion and rigid fear locked in a decrepit mansion alone. I love my brother and we get along like twins but a decade locked alone in a house with him? Maybe I read V.C. Andrews as a teenager out of morbid curiosity but harbor no desire to live out one of her morose plots. Writer David Turpin appears to be a fan of the horror writer, despite his Irish heritage, as this plot could easily be pages pulled from V.C. Andrews typewriter.
The eeriness is in perfect harmony with the plot and cinematography. Vintage with a touch of frightening. If you watch the movie only for the landscape and lush views, you will not be disappointed. Abundant wooded areas, a quaint village, and a ramshackle mansion are the dream for vintage lovers. This movie is like an antique flea market set in Ireland: candy for the eyes. Ivy-covered stone walls in the middle of the woods, to last century dresses, draped in ivory, faded tapestries, and gilded birdcages created vintage splendor. It’s that stunning and sublime. I almost didn’t care about the plot or what the actors were saying.
Now to the plot. For two hundred years, Edward and Rachel’s family had been prisoners in their family estate to monsters who roam the halls at night. Three rules dictate the lives of the twins: never let another person over the threshold, be in bed by midnight, and if one of them tries to escape, the other twin’s life would be in jeopardy. Edward lives in fear of the monsters behind the trap door near the entry. He follows the rules, content in his depressed seclusion. Rachel only fears life without her brother and any harm that could threaten his existence. Her desperation to live outside of the estate steals her every thought.
In the village, young war veteran Sean (Eugene Simon) returns to his family’s home and goods store. The local boys deem him a traitor for taking on the English war and pull him into row after row to prove he no longer fits into the town. When Rachel arrives to pick up necessities, Sean becomes enthralled by her ethereal beauty and her need for protection from the same men who bully him. Seeking time alone, the two find themselves romantically inclined until Rachel remembers the curse tying her to her brother and their home. Rachel begins breaking the rules, one by one, to break away from her incestuous brother and family home. The lodgers fight back, threatening their lives while explaining their family heritage in all its creepy glory.
The macabre gatekeepers play background to the depraved thoughts they provoke in the brother and sister. Rachel acts center-stage with Edward as more back history to explain why his sister makes freeing choices to break away from her ancestors’ haunted past. The plot evolves with limited dimension. Income, or lack of monetary resources, force Rachel to run from her captors, her brother included, as his potential demise is linked to her life. This is not compelling enough as a stand-alone and other subplots fall short too, leaving me parched for more. Ninety minutes is too short to fill in the blanks. I say send the story back and ask for another twenty minutes as this movie could be great with the empty spots filled in with as much detail as the landscape. As for the horror aspect, even wimps like me can handle the glimpses of evil that maybe spent a combined ten minutes on screen. Rent “The Lodgers” from Redbox, dim the lights, and enjoy the beauty, plus the hint of a nightmare, in this sinister flick.
In theaters February 23rd
