MovieChat Forums > The Lodge (2020) Discussion > The kids (spoilers)

The kids (spoilers)

posted 5 years ago by gurtz (9)
3 replies | jump to latest

First of all, I don't dislike this movie. It was effectively creepy and well done. But there's something that bothers me. It's about the kids. (And it's not about how they're somehow able to stage a fake hanging without killing themselves in the process.)

When I watched the movie I did not initially "get" the twist (i.e. that it was all a prank). It was only when reading reviews afterwards that I finally realized what happened. And I don't think it's because I'm stupid. (I'm pretty sure I'm not.) It's because the kids' actions were totally out of character with how they are portrayed in the first half of the movie, so the twist did not make any sense to me.

To do what they did... to come up with this idea, methodically plan it for weeks in advance, and then execute it so thoroughly... knowing that they are "pranking" a young woman who has been through an extremely traumatic childhood... someone who has only been nice to them... someone they have been living in a house with for days and getting to know... is COLD on a psychopathic level. It requires that they basically have zero human empathy. This is the sort of thing about which they write articles in psychology journals.

Yet that's not how they're portrayed in the movie. The daughter is obviously emotionally devastated by her mother's death. The son obviously cares about his sister very much, and shows a lot of empathy towards her. They're not bad kids. They seem very normal. Struggling with the death of the mom, yes; but basically decent kids who have the capacity to love each other, their parents, and, presumably, others, too.

So what they did, for me, is completely out of character with how they are presented in the movie. This wasn't an "in the moment" outburst or poor decision. This was methodical. This was calculated. This was pure evil.

In a way, I understand why the film makers had to do this. They couldn't portray the kids as evil early on, because it would risk giving away the twist. But by portraying them as normal, well-adjusted, and compassionate individuals, the twist "worked"... but it also didn't work, IMO, because it was based on a lie.

Thinking back on "The Sixth Sense": The twist in that worked. Even in retrospect, it all makes sense. I don't feel the same way about "The Lodge", though. To me the twist in this does not work, because it requires completely ignoring the characterization of the kids in the first half of the movie.

Just wanted to get that off my chest. Feel free to disagree.

[–] g-bone (563) 5 years ago

Those kids were cold to Grace right from the beginning. They blame her for the death of their mother. Image the hate they have. You don’t get much backstory on the kids to think they are decent kids. Yes, some of the things they did were over the top. They made sure to pan on the body harness in the attic to give you a clue to the twist. The girl did finally give in and show emotion after the dog died. Eventually the boy too. I liked the twist and the movie.

[–] gurtz (9) 5 years ago

I probably didn't explain it well. I agree that they were cold to her from the beginning (though mostly Aiden). But I interpreted it more as, "I hate you and I'm going to go sulk in my bedroom" teenage angst, rather than, "I hate you and I'm going to use your childhood trauma to systematically destroy you as a human being". The former is normal, and to be expected under the circumstances. The latter is psycho-level behavior.

Anyway, maybe if I watch it again I'll see it differently. (And I did like it, too. I was just bothered by this one aspect.)

[–] MichaelJPollock (736) 5 years ago

Agreed.

But I think directors Fiala & Franz are like fellow Austrian director Michael Haneke: they have a sadistic streak they're repressing by pretending to tell somewhat "moral" tales, when all they really want to do is torture people on film (which is also what they have a real talent for, in terms of mise-en-scene... at least Fiala & Franz realize what Haneke doesn't: that they should stick to violent B-movies).

Having the children play an out-of-character, psychopath-grade mindscrew on their new stepmother is a dishonest and manipulative way to make it acceptable for the audience to revel in the kids' comeuppance at the end of the film. And like Haneke in both versions of 'Funny Games', they push the dishonesty to the point of not actually showing said comeuppance on screen: they lack 1) the balls, 2) the self-awareness of how fascinated they are by violence.

Their previous film 'Goodnight Mommy' was much in the same vein and also was about two kids with a "new mom" going crazy in an isolated house. It also used grief as a plot device (as well as tape to seal mouths...).