Dir - Veronika Franz/Severin Fiala
Overall: MEH
The latest from Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, (Goodnight Mommy), The Lodge was original scripted by Sergio Casci, then reworked by the Austrian director duo after Hammer Films got them on board. For a considerable while, the movie works wonderfully as an unnerving psychological nightmare that patiently builds its ominous tone. Though it uses some familiar narrative tropes like an isolated location in the middle of winter, a mentally unstable, medicated protagonist who is quick to disturbed, walking dreams, and an ideal situation for a haunting to be taking place, these conventions are weaved compellingly. A bold move is taken though in how the mysterious plot points are ultimately explained. By slowly cranking up the tension and letting the character's religious struggles overtake them, an attempt was made to make the final rug pull gloss over the now apparent plot holes and "Oh, that's all that was going on?" disappointment of such a reveal. What follows though is just staggeringly depressing and clashes in a more uncomfortable way than what was being previously established. While it fumbles the ball when it counts, the lead performance by Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough is excellent and forgiving viewers can certainly get enough out of what is expertly done before the final act.
Dir - J-P Valkeapää
Overall: GOOD
For J-P Valkeapää's dark, quasi-thriller/comedy Dogs Don't Wear Pants, (Koirat eivät käytä housuja), that often strange and primarily unspoken bond between dominatrix and pet is fascinatingly explored. The film has obvious elements of eroticism, but also moments that dip into torture porn for those squeamish about more things than whips, leather, erotic asphyxiation, and water sports. Akin to Bernardo Bertolucci's masterpiece Last Tango in Paris though, its primarily a deeply harrowing drama about extreme grief manifesting itself through sexual taboos. Some of the film is played for laughs, but these moments wisely come from not just the audience finding amusement at the on-paper absurdity of certain moments, but the characters as well that seem to be comprehending in real time how such seemingly unhealthy kinks have zombiefied their very lives. Valkeapää does not let the viewer off easy by thinly riding some intentionally awkward, comedic beats as they are all accompanied by a rather desperate despair that causes some quite disturbing events to snowball. If the movie ended on more of a downer, than it would likely be too much to bare. Instead, the characters seem to find a sort of happiness or at least fittingly odd acceptance of where their journey has brought them.
Dir - Damien LeVeck
Overall: WOOF
Ill-fated with a hokey premise and an almost criminally schlocky presentation, Damien LaVeck's The Cleansing Hour is a full-length adaptation of his earlier short of the same name. LeVeck is clearly going for such a trashy, loud, messy, bloody, B-movie vibe, but the hack-level comedy jives in a most embarrassing fashion with the more modern day, disturbing qualities that it simultaneously launches into. It is a common tonal issue problem of not being silly or serious enough in either direction, instead just lingering awkwardly and stupidly in the middle. While it is impossible to take the movie seriously then, one has to have a craving for not just gross-out gore, amateurish CGI, and demonic possession stereotypes left and right, but also bro-centric posturing and the concept of an evil spirit that spouts incessant, groan-worthy cliches in a distorted voice. All of this is meant to be bad-ass and amusing, but instead it is neither of those two things. Not by a long shot.
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