100 WORD FILM REVIEWS / The Lodge

The Lodge: F

Image © Neon; Hammer Films

I already thought The Turning was the worst horror film so far this year, but this pretentious slow burn supersedes it. Although directed and acted competently, The Lodge sinfully features a terrible script. Only its prologue is shocking, the rest a hodgepodge of weak dialog, empty religious symbolism, and a conceit that cannot stand on its own. Even its “twist” leaves no sympathetic characters to connect with. In fact, the film may be seen as offensive in its portrayal of mental illness, trauma victims, and religion. The Lodge is a cold film that slogs on toward its inevitably bleak conclusion.

Sean Woodard, Film Editor

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