This
weekend will sort of be like a British Big
Chill, but with portents of more death to come. A group of old friends have
assembled to mourn a friend who committed suicide, but instead of listening to
moldy 1960s pop, they pass the time telling macabre stories. Actually, it is
nothing like a British Big Chill, because
it is really quite clever. Abigail Blackmore and her collaborating cast-members
give the horror anthology a fresh spin in Tales
from the Lodge, which premiered at the 2019 SXSW Film Festival.
Jonesy
offed himself by drowning, which was dashed awkward of him. Martha is also rather
put out that Paul has brought his latest girlfriend to the ash-scattering
weekend. Her name is Miki, but everyone keeps calling her Nikki, annoying her
no end. Frankly, Emma and Russell are happy to have any excuse to be away from
their kids, while Martha’s sickly husband Joe would be miserable wherever he
was.
As
the resentments start to build, the university friends distract themselves with
stories that mix humor with horror. However, the format eventually starts to
breakdown. Poor Joe doesn’t get to properly finish his tale, whereas Emma has
more of a performance piece (as you might call it). Paul’s story of a sinister
auto misadventure is probably the most akin to the sort of British tales of
terror you used to see in Amicus anthology films or the Hammer House of Horror TV show, making it a fitting opener. Perhaps
the best tale is Martha’s deliciously ironic spirit possession yarn, while
Russell’s zombie fantasy is probably the most cinematic, starting out as a
jokey lark, but taking a dark turn.
Yet,
Lodge is that rare animal among
horror anthologies, in that its connecting material is better (and ultimately
creepier) than the constituent tales. These sequences are also considerably
longer than typical anthology framing devices. In fact, the ill-fated reunion
is clearly the whole point of the film instead of a mere afterthought.
The
six principals are all cuttingly funny and they play of each other quite
adroitly. Laura Fraser is probably the stand-out as the abrasively passive-aggressive
Martha. Kelly Wenham also clearly enjoys getting to chew some serious scenery
as Miki, but Mackenzie Crook, Dustin Demri-Burns, Sophie Thompson, and Johnny Vegas
all take full advantage of their spots, as Joe, Paul, Emma, and Russell,
respectively.
Fans
of the British horror tradition will get a big kick out of Lodge. Blackmore’s screenplay is incisively droll, but also
nostalgic in the right way. Apparently, it was an unusually successful group
effort, with the six main thesps getting directing credits for their characters’
stories in the closing titles. Highly recommended for old school genre
anthology movie fans, Tales from the
Lodge screens again Monday (3/11) and Wednesday (3/13), as part of this
year’s SXSW.