The Lodgers is about a sinister family
curse that keeps two orphaned twins, Rachel and Edward, confined to
their families crumbling estate. When Rachel falls in love with a boy
from the nearby village, she decides to take action and break the
curse once and for all with deadly consequences.
The Lodgers is a haunting and
beautifully filmed Gothic thriller featuring a
dark family history that links each generation together like a cursed
chain. The orphans live by themselves in the house but they are not
alone and the film lets the viewer know early on that the ghosts are
running the show. The ghosts of the previous generations watch over
the next from the watery grave that lay just below the house. There
are three rules that Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner)
must live by: be in bed by midnight, allow no one in the home, and
trying to escape will put their lives immediately at risk.
The vibrant, lush scenery outside of the estate is in stark contrast
to the dreary and crumbling condition of the house. This difference
is a visual reminder of the two worlds in which the film lives in:
the living and the dead. But in this story it's not the living who
can't let go of the dead, it's the dead who wont let go of the
living. The consequence of this is that the living aren't
experiencing life at all, but rather live as prisoners confined to
the cursed home with their lives a mirror image of the house they are
confined to: still, decaying, and waiting to fall apart.
When Rachel meets and has feelings for a boy from the local village,
one forbidden love is exchanged for another and the consequences
become deadly when the curse is threatened. It's a very smart and
layered script that deals wonderfully with the themes of forbidden
love and the vastly different scenarios it can come from.
The house and film are quiet making every noise something to pay
attention to and be cautious of. As the story progresses and the
family curse is threatened, the dead grow more restless and
aggressive making their appearances more sporadic and abundant. These
appearances come with fantastic lighting and makeup that create
striking visuals of the dead.
Charlotte Vega and Bill Milner both give very strong performances as
the orphans. Milner does a great job portraying the broken spirit and
already consumed soul of Edward. But it is Vega who shines at the
center of the film. She is perfectly cast as Rachel, the seemingly
doomed sister who learns she has a dim light of hope left inside her
despite the curse she lives under. Vegas eyes are as mysterious,
still and dark as the lake that consumed her parents, and their
parents before them. And like the lake that casts ripples when
disturbed, her eyes flash with life during moments of fear and
awakening. She's a haunted and damaged rebel and her performance
captures these qualities.
The Lodgers is a smart and creepy film with a solid story that is
told with patience. It's quiet and effective with strong performances
and great locations and set design. If you like the slow burn and
mystery of old school Gothic thrillers with haunted houses and family
curses passed down from generation to generation like a hereditary
supernatural disease, then a I highly recommend The Lodgers.
