Those seeking fast moving and visceral horror experiences should be giving The Lodge a very wide berth, with directors Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz bringing the same slow burning intensity to their Hollywood debut that they established in their festival hit Goodnight Mommy, but The Lodge doesn't make the most of the tools at its disposal as it becomes an unbelievable and meandering affair.

Filled with ample mood and atmosphere, The Lodge has moments of pure dread filled intrigue and suspense but as a cold and depressive pre-Christmas affair between grieving siblings Aiden and Mia and daddie's new one time cult member fiancee Grace takes hold on the film, you begin to quickly grow tired of the cat and mouse games the film and its characters play on us as we sense things are not going to end up with milk and cookies around the open fire.

There's a lot of padding in the film as Richard Armitage's father nicely leaves his children with a damaged, mentally unstable victim of abuse of manipulation to look after them and while the film maintains a level of believability early on, that quickly gives way to a plot that never really gels the way in which it should as motivations, abilities and developments don't always appear to be clearly defined or worked out.

Viewers don't want their horror's believable as such but suspension of belief can only take us so far and the core of The Lodge's conflict's all stem from decisions and happenings that don't sit well, stopping the ability of its three main cast members from ensuring The Lodge becomes the next underground horror hit.

As she's done over the last couple of years, Riley Keough is once more a standout member of an ensemble she is a part of, instilling Grace with a sense of vulnerability, menace and sadness.

Keough's impressive turn deserved a better overall outcome and some of the films best singular scenes stem from her interactions with Jaeden Martell's Aiden and Lia McHugh's dole-loving Mia, with the two not always as innocent as they at times seem.

Final Say -

Filled with moments of promise and some lovingly staged mood pieces, The Lodge has some fine horror stylings to match it with the best but its disappointing narrative and murky character motivations hold it back from its potential, ending up in an unfitting finale that will soon make the film itself forgotten.

2 frozen pooches out of 5

The movie plays out more like a psychological thriller than a horror film, as the horror implied has more to do with Grace Marshall's (Riley Keough) nightmares and the revenge plan concocted by siblings Aiden (Jaeden Martell) and Mia (Lia McHugh) Hall. That revenge plan butts up against the guilt Grace perceives over the marital breakup between their father (Richard Armitage) and mother (Alicia Silverstone),and the mom's subsequent suicide. I have to say, the scene in which Laura Hall kills herself happened so quickly that one doesn't have time to prepare for it as the viewer. If you wanted to point to a jump scare in the picture, that would probably be the first and only one because it was very effectively done. The nagging question one is forced to focus on was why in the world Richard would have fallen into a relationship with the sole survivor of a suicide cult that left thirty eight people dead. You would have to know that there would remain lingering effects of such a horrific event that it would eventually stain the relationship, and in this case it led to utter destruction. I have my doubts whether a teenage boy and his younger sister could come up with such an elaborate plan as they did to drive their future mom crazy; the phony newspaper story showing they all died due to a faulty gas heater was icing on the cake. Had they known it would have ended in a finale where they had to repent for their sins, I think they might have been more accepting of their father's fiancée.

PLOT SPOILERS: Richard (Richard Armitage) wants to divorce Laura (Alicia Silverstone) for Grace (Riley Keough). They have been separated for a while. Grace was the daughter of a suicide cult and the lone survivor. When Laura does herself in, the kids blame Grace. Dad forces them together with Grace over the wintry Christmas as a remote lodge. Grace takes meds. One morning they wake up and the Grinch had come to visit and took everything. They quickly figure out (Plot Spoiler) they are in a bad remake of a Nicole Kidman film.

Riley Keough was a lame character. It was hard to imagine Richard leaving his wife for someone so maladjusted to life. And what was with the dollhouse reflecting real life? It was interesting but how did it fit in with Grace's past? It appears they tried to cram too much into the film. Sometimes less is more.

Guide: F-word. Nudity (Riley Keough)