The Lodge

Goodnight Mommy directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala make their English-language debut with this chilly horror, in which a family gets snowed-in at a lakeside lodge. The trip has been masterminded by dad-of-two Richard (Richard Armitage) in an attempt to help his resentful son (It's Jaeden Martell) and daughter bond with his new fiancée, Grace (Riley Keough). However, when Richard is called away from the lodge, a blizzard rolls in, trapping the siblings with Grace, who may not be all that she seems. Providing an acid commentary on family dynamics, The Lodge dabbles in ambiguity, as we're invited to question if Keough's character is unhinged by her murky past, or if something supernatural is at work. Using some of the same tricks they brought to their previous film, Austrian co-directors Franz and Fiala show a nice command of mood, capturing a menacing atmosphere and some chilling imagery. A midpoint twist puts everyone in survival mode, but the clichés become repetitive, and the film sadly runs out of scream in the final stretch.