THE LODGERS (2017)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *good*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *metaphysical, psychological*

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Despite the presence of genuine ghostly phenomena in this moody Gothic movie by director Brian O'Malley and writer David Turpin, THE LODGERS is, like Del Toro's CRIMSON PEAK, more "horror-adjacent" than generic horror.

Like many other Gothics, LODGERS plays up the trope of the doomed family, particularly as a consequence of inbreeding. Though it's late in the film when one learns what brought about the dire situation of twin siblings Rachel (Charlotte Vega) and Edward (Bill Milner), the specter of incest is immediately suggested by their circumstances. Brother and sister live together in a crumbling Irish mansion, and up until the film's beginning have subsisted on a trust fund bequeathed by their late parents. There are no corporeal ghosts except in hallucinatory sequences, but strange, watery effusions seep up from beneath the floorboards, and there's a nearby lake on the property where the twins' parents simultaneously took their lives. Despite the fact that in life the twins' parents made it possible for the siblings to live without working, in death something wants to eventually consume them-- but only after they've committed themselves to a transgressive legacy.

Edward has become a near-total recluse, all but voicing the expectation that the two of them will eventually embrace that legacy. Rachel, though, keeps her brother at arm's length, and does leave their estate to go into the neighboring town for goods. However, the lady in charge of the store won't extend the family any more credit, and hints that she once served the family's menial needs and knows something about its history. 

While in town Rachel is seen by another unpopular individual: Sean, a soldier who fought with the British in WWI and so is considered a traitor to his country by the more irascible locals. Sean follows Rachel to her estate, but though she won't admit him to her house due to a set of draconian family rules, she does arrange to meet him later.

Rachel and Edward have more pressing money problems than their local account in town. Their family lawyer visits their dwelling, claiming that if they don't sell the house, creditors will eventually take it by law. He also suggests Rachel ought to make some advantageous marriage, with the scant suggestion that it might be to him. Suffice to say that, even though LODGERS is highly critical of the stultifying effects of aristocracy, the lawyer represents the money-grubbing tendency of what could be loosely termed "the bourgeoise." He does not come to a good end. And to be sure, Rachel's dalliance with Sean does not have a happy conclusion either.

As with the heroine of CRIMSON PEAK, Rachel's arc necessitates that she must escape the tyranny of the past, though writer Turpin indicates that she's at least tempted to remain in the safety of their old life, so LODGERS is a touch less politically correct than PEAK. Mood dominates over action, but there are outbursts of both mundane and mystic violence until the climax. The backstory goes so far as to claim that the family has consisted of intermarrying twins for several generations, which is the source of the townfolk's contempt for the family, as well as the source of the unquiet spirits.

LODGERS won't win any awards for major shock-sequences, but it's a good meditation on the attractiveness of familial transgression.