When you’ve seen as many horror films as I have, you start to notice that most of them follow a careful pattern. Suspense builds then bursts; scares startle then you’re off the hook. You know just when to go to the bathroom and the exact moment you need to cover your eyes. But every once in a while, a horror film comes along and surprises with the simplicity of its visceral terror. No cheap shots, just horror that stays, sinking into your bones. Ladies and gents, this is the kind of film I am here for. I’m talking Hereditary-style horror, with its raw violence and dark portrayal of family relationships. In exciting news, we now have another film to add to this collection of rare and ghastly gems: The Lodge.
In The Lodge, we meet our protagonists in the 
aftermath of a couple’s separation. Dad Richard (played by the conveniently-named heartthrob Richard Armitage– North & South, ladies, amirite?) is trying his best to foster a loving bond betwixt his taxing tweens and his girlfriend Grace (played by Riley Keough– an impressive young actress who you may remember from one of my all-time faves, It Comes at Night). So, thinks Richard, what better way to bring everyone together than by forcing them to spend a few days snowed-in on a frozen lake? Actually, Richard, there are a lot of better ways, especially when you remember the fact that you met your girlfriend 
through your job as a scholar of the occult. The family soon learns that some pretty unpredictable stuff can happen to the mind and body when cooped up like that, and as their cabin fever reaches a whole new level, the cozy getaway spirals out of control.
Perhaps appropriately for a horror film first released at Sundance in 2019 and written and directed by the same folks who gave us the twisted Goodnight Mommy, this flick unfolds like a nightmare. Its scares jar more like car wrecks than jump scares: just as shocking, but much more real, with the dread sinking in after the jump, and leaving no room for a sigh of relief. The Lodge terrifies like a live 
newscast gone wrong, and just when you manage to pry your eyes away from the carnage, you realize it’s gotten under your skin like an ominous fable.
The acting is quite spectacular all around, even from the kids—shoutout especially to my man Jaeden Martell, who seems to be making good use of the momentum It (2017) offered his career, as well as one of my all-time faves, Ms. Alicia Silverstone herself, who has come a long way since her role as “a virgin who can’t drive.” But most of the kudos for these characters really must go to the filmmakers Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz. Much like in Goodnight Mommy, the characters in The Lodge shift from being flawed and hateful one moment to sympathetic and endearing the next. The Lodge’s emotional twists and turns are not entirely unpredictable, nor are they entirely expected—a nice little mix that leaves you wondering what’s really going on until the end.
Also like Goodnight Mommy, this film deftly navigates a variety of subjects and emotions surrounding the mother-child relationship, from love and sacrifice to hostility and resentment. However, where Goodnight Mommy hones in on beauty and perfection at its core, The Lodge probes other existential questions about death, religion, and God. But thankfully, it also never forgets its target audience, and like a river coursing under a layer of ice, themes of the paranormal, the occult, and pure violence run deep. Without giving anything away, let’s just say that it’s simply horror movie magic.
SpecialK Verdict: Simple. Scary. Sinister. See it.
The Lodge opened in select locations on Friday, February 7, and will expand to additional locations on Friday, February 14 and Friday, February 21.
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