Lair

Via Shudder

I want to start off by giving serious fun points for the premise: A rental property is being used to test the validity of claims on cursed/haunted items to document if they’re truly possessed while its tenants are unwitting tests subjects, ignorant to the fact they are “secretly under close observation” for research in an ongoing crime case. It is an interesting and creepy idea for the voyeurism angle alone, and I really appreciate the spin on overplayed possession/haunted genre tropes. When it works, it works, but when it doesn’t…oof! Let me break it down for you further.

It’s clear there was great effort put into crafting atmosphere, aesthetics, and mood, but the movie ultimately falls short of its true potential. It misses its mark more than once due to poor pacing and odd tone shifts caused by an imbalance of seriously stilted writing or overly melodramatic dialogue. The opening scenes alone were quite clunky and had me watching the rest skeptical it would be able to recover (it mostly didn’t).

A story like this needs to have interesting, empathetic characters if we are to be shocked by their downfall, destruction, or deaths, but not much of that can be found here. We need to have a strong sense of who they are, why they’re making their choices, and we are supposed to be emboldened by some passionate emotion when they’re in danger. Sadly, this wasn’t the case for any of the protagonists or the side characters. Most of their personalities are shallow and grating, which leaves the viewer grateful for their demise rather than upset.

The women suffer from more than their fair share of “men writing women,” while the men are truly irritating or unremarkable. The landlord is unreasonably American, gruff, grimy, and obnoxious, and he’s rather disrespectful to the (only Black actor) Haitian character he’s supposedly buddies with. The kids have next to no sibling chemistry with each other or their mother. In fact, the mom is rather neglectful of her children in favor of escapist romance, which is supposed to be believable after several references to a failed marriage and failed teen romance; and for someone who wants to be an active and empathetic co-parent, the girlfriend certainly isn’t any help. Can’t say I was sad about seeing them in any of the circumstances they’re placed in, or that I had any sympathy for them. (Mostly I just wanted to send them all straight to therapy!!!)

I understand the director has referenced several European horror/ghost stories and mysteries including The Orphanage, The Tenant, and Diabolique. I can see the references made to Orphanage in the smoky ghost appearances and grungy blue-hued moments, but I think this borders on overt reference rather than clever allusion with an original spin. Polanski’s influence is undeniable here, that’s for sure, in everything from lighting to film grain to angle, but it’s also very heavy handed rather than being reimagined by fresh minds and eyes.

Having seen both versions of Diabolique as well, it’s also quite clear where he applies those references and vibes. Unfortunately this particular lesbian love affair angle is so melodramatic and over the top here it reads more like the sad 90s American Diabolique remake than the original French one. These young 30 something women are unfathomably objectified as ultra hot, ultra horny, and ultimately read a little porny, which doesn’t provide any convincing or interesting context for me personally. I’d have rather them be more dynamic and realistic, with inclusion of subtle scene callbacks to those films instead.

As for the outright scares and spooky bits, I will give additional fun points awarded to the demon’s grabby hands, lighting fast jump scare snatching of people and murdering of victims, and all of that goodness. The creepy creature is enjoyable, but is given an unfair lack of screen time. There’s some clever things done with shadow and lighting that aid in the creep factor when it does appear though.

The haunted objects themselves are fun as well and this is where the movie excels with super overtly creepy and forbidding vibe works to their favor. They’re so quite obviously haunted that anyone with a shred of wit walking into this property to find those should’ve gone the way of the infamous Baphomet Air B&B case LOL. If I found any of that in an apartment or rental or hotel? I’d cancel my reservation faster than The Flash could fly around the globe to reverse time. Blink and you’d miss me goin’ out the door! Whew. No thank you!!

Having said all this, one might wonder why I watched to the end since it sounds like I wasn’t invested, but (a) I’m a completionist (b) I was given a screener for a fair and honest review (thank you!) (c) it has a truly beautiful visual aesthetic and color grading that I couldn’t get enough of. Yes, that’s right I watched to the end for the color grading, cinematography, and composition. I’m a sucker for things with contrasting colours, day-to-night transitions in a claustrophobic environment, a good Dutch angle, blah blah blah. And it’s got all of that good stuff! I just found myself wishing the rest of the script matched the high standard of the visuals.

The last 5-10 minutes are completely ridiculous and don’t fit the vibe of the rest of it, but I imagine they were included to give the possibility of a sequel ala The Conjuring or Insidious. Unlike the first installments in those series, I do not find myself clamoring for more story. (I’m sure we will get it anyway though.)

Overall I found the movie to be quite average for a horror film, although I think it’s worth noting the effort made on crafting solid visuals. I would watch other things from Crow as a director, but would prefer he leaves the bulk of script writing in more experienced hands so the work has more solid ground.

Review by Ellen Avigliano
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