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The Lodgers

Name: The Lodgers
Director: Brian O'Malley
Released: 2017
Duration: 93 min

Representation Score

3.3/10

Limited

2017

Director

Brian O'Malley

Runtime

93 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

The Lodgers functions as a traditional gothic horror film that prioritizes historical accuracy and atmospheric tension over progressive representation. The narrative structure reinforces historical homogeneity and conventional social norms. While the film explores themes of familial entrapment and class decay, it lacks complexity in addressing multiple aspects of identity. Characters predominantly adhere to established genre clichés, such as the mysterious female lead and the wounded soldier. Ultimately, the film adheres to traditional cautionary tales without introducing diverse identities, resulting in a limited demographic scope.

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Category Breakdown

Does The Lodgers have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on a romance between Rachel and Sean, which follows a traditional heterosexual relationship. It does not include any queer narratives or characters with non-conforming gender identities.

How does The Lodgers portray gender?

Fair

Rachel plays a significant role in driving the story by breaking the estate's rules, but the film relies on familiar gender stereotypes like the troubled male veteran. It does not challenge traditional gender power dynamics.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Lodgers?

Minimal

The cast is uniform, reflecting the 1920s rural Irish setting. There are no characters from diverse racial or ethnic backgrounds.

How does The Lodgers represent religion and culture?

Limited

The story critiques the declining Anglo-Irish class system through supernatural elements. It emphasizes traditional family duties and ancestral customs over modern secular perspectives.

Does The Lodgers include disability representation?

Limited

Sean's status as a war veteran involves psychological trauma, but this is used primarily as a plot device rather than a detailed exploration of mental health issues.

Present on Screen

Rachel challenges the established rules of the estate, providing a sense of ability to act.
The film offers a localized examination of the decaying Anglo-Irish class structure.

Limited or Absent

The narrative relies heavily on traditional gender stereotypes and conventional romantic clichés.
The cast lacks racial and ethnic diversity, staying true to a homogeneous historical context.
Psychological trauma is used as a plot device rather than a detailed exploration of disability.

Official Synopsis

1920, rural Ireland. Anglo-Irish twins Rachel and Edward share a strange existence in their crumbling family estate. Each night, the property becomes the domain of a sinister presence (The Lodgers) which enforces three rules upon the twins: they must be in bed by midnight; they may not permit an outsider past the threshold; and if one attempts to escape, the life of the other is placed in jeopardy. When troubled war veteran Sean returns to the nearby village, he is immediately drawn to the mysterious Rachel, who in turn begins to break the rules set out by The Lodgers. The consequences pull Rachel into a deadly confrontation with her brother - and with the curse that haunts them.

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