Exclusive – Irish Premier of The Lodgers (Movie Review)

I was so lucky to win a pair of tickets to see the Irish Premier of the Lodgers in The Arc Cinema in Wexford and my luck didn't stop there because I got to see an amazing movie.

The Lodgers is a story about Anglo Irish twins Rachel and Edward that share a strange existence in their crumbling family estate. Each night, the property becomes the domain of a sinister presence (The Lodgers) which enforces three rules upon the twins: they must be in bed by midnight; they may not permit an outsider past the threshold; if one attempts to escape, the life of the other is placed in jeopardy.

When troubled war veteran Sean returns to the nearby village, he is immediately drawn to the mysterious Rachel, who in turn begins to break the rules set out by The Lodgers which leads to the twins relationship crumbling and things start going bump in the night.

The three main characters work really well together; Rachel - Charlotte Vega, Edward - Bill Milner & Sean - Eugene Simon my favourite was Eugene Simon. Most might recognise him from playing the role of Lancel Lannister in Game of Thrones, although his Irish accent needs a little but of work (but no way as bad as Tom Cruise).

The standout thing about this movie is the screenplay written by David Turpin – a fab original in a World of mediocracy and sameness. In the burgeoning market of supernatural thriller/horror it's quite difficult today to create something new. Thankfully, we have not one mention of those regular lines like “I'll be back in a minute” and not a notion of a stupid, large breasted teen running upstairs to trap herself in the bathroom, trying, unsuccessfully to hide from the axe murderer. The three rules are told to us in song at the start so you understand the movie straight away. Again, another unique storytelling style, normally supernatural films keep you guessing right up to the end, trying to figure out exactly what is going on. That's not to say the movie is predictable because it isn't. 

The special effects were also very good, with a tiny budget and a 4 week shooting schedule, it's amazing to see what can be created and this is due to a great story, choice of lighting, choice of locations and fantastic cast & crew. Brian O'Malley has done a fab job with only his second movie. It's a delight to see such a great film coming from Ireland. I'm actually writing this review with a documentary on in the background on the making of Excaliber by the legendary John Boorman. What a coincidence.

Based in rural Ireland of 1920, the whole movie was shot in Wexford. As a Wexfordian myself, it was brilliant to continually recognise locations around the county but of course one of the main stars of the movie is Loftus Hall. To locals, it's a well known place, the most haunted in Ireland, learn all about the story – https://www.loftushall.ie/about/. 

When you see the interior parts of The Lodgers, the closest movie I can compare it to is Crimson Peak. Seriously, the visuals and feel of the crumbling building stack up against the multi-million-dollar creation of recent Oscar winner Guillermo Del Toro. 

(Internal - Real Life - Loftus Hall)

(Screenshot in The Lodgers)

(Screenshot in Crimson Peak)

It's lovely to recognise other locations like Johnstown Castle and Tintern Abbey, but to the eye of a non Wexfordian, you wouldn't guess that the 3 main locations are quite some distance away. Again, this is achieved by having a distinct look, feel and lighting at all the locations. I suppose that's the magic of the movies to some degree. The next time I visit these places, I will do so with a completely different eye (and bring my camera of course).

For me, the only thing that didn't stand out is the music and score. Leaving the Arc Cinema, we were excitedly talking about the story, special effects and good ending but I can't remember any part of the music or scoring, which for me is unusual. I normally pay attention to this, of course, I was so inraptured by the movie as a whole, it didn't matter and it's not enough to lose any marks over, maybe the music and score was really good and just blended perfectly. I am delighted to give The Lodgers a 10 out of 10 planets and I will be going back to see it again.

John The Captain Ryan