Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala create a chilling psychological thriller in their 2019 film entitled “The Lodge”. The story leaves for much interpretation, and audiences were captivated by the performances of the different actors. Be warned – there are spoilers below, so continue with caution!

This psychological thriller follows the story of a stressed father and his two children, who accompany their soon-to-be stepmother to a lodge in the woods for Christmas vacation. The children resent Grace (their father’s new fiancee) because their mother committed suicide when learning of their father’s affair with Grace.

From the very beginning of the film, Grace is portrayed as holding on to some sort of trauma. As the film progresses, we learn that Grace was the sole survivor of a massacre at a Christian cult. Her trauma manifests in the form of fear associated with all forms of religion, and Grace must be heavily medicated to combat her PTSD. The children do not know of this trauma until they root around in their father’s files, eventually finding video footage of the victims of the cult massacre, whose mouths have been duct taped with purple tape reading “SIN”.

Despite this new information, the children act hostile towards Grace. Their father goes into the city for work, and the children are left with Grace. Instead of making the most of their snowed-in situation, the children act out against Grace, leading her to feel more and more hated. Additionally, the amount of Catholic paraphernalia in the cabin adds to Grace’s unease and overall discomfort, causing her to have more and more PTSD flashbacks.

One day, Grace wakes up and finds that her medication, her dog, and all of her clothes have disappeared. She feels many withdrawal symptoms, and her trauma begins to manifest itself in the form of flashbacks, paranoia, and hallucinations. She begins to isolate herself from the children in an effort to combat her withdrawals, but her efforts do not come to fruition.

Soon after, the children reveal that they have been tormenting Grace, and they admit to discarding of her medication and her belongings. This causes Grace to grow even angrier, and the kids lock themselves away in the attic, afraid of what Grace is now capable of.

When Richard finally returns to the lodge, finding Grace holding a gun to the kids’ heads. Richard tries to talk Grace down, but her withdrawal symptoms have thrown her into a state of extreme psychosis. Her hallucinations have convinced her that the kids are already dead, so she turns the gun to Richard, shooting him in the head in front of the kids.

The movie ends in a chilling scene where Grace is seen sitting at the table with the family and Richard’s corpse, forcing the children to sing a religious hymn. In a final act, Grace puts masking tape over the family’s mouths, writing “SIN” in capital letters across the tape.

This film hauntingly portrays the effects of psychosis and unresolved trauma and also serves as a cautionary tale to individuals exploiting the trauma of others. Because the children utilized Grace’s religious trauma in an effort to torment her, they have been thrown into her psychotic state, forced to undergo a similar trauma to what she has experienced.

All in all, “The Lodge” is a must-see. Riley Keough does an incredible job portraying the lengths that an individual will go in the state of psychosis, and the audience is left feeling unsettled and chilled.