Tales from the Lodge (2019) User Reviews

Tales From the Lodge

[henry8-3 · 5/10 · 20 November 2020]

A group of old friends gather at a remote lodge by a lake to scatter the ashes of their friend who drowned himself there 3 years earlier. They pass the time telling each other horror stories.

Oddly enough the 'big chill' element of old friends coming together is more enjoyable than the admittedly intended lighthearted horror tales, which are pretty weak. When away from this the cast aren't half bad and make good company pending the inevitable real horror which will follow - which, when it comes, is a bit of a stretch but not bad. I've seen a lot worse.

Ho Hum Experimental UK Comedy Horror.

[torrascotia · 4/10 · 16 March 2022]

These are the kind of low budget UK horror comedies that seem to be filling up the schedules on UK Freeview channels. Its definitely its own genre. Better quality examples would be Dog House or Severance, this title is nowhere near as good.

Like many I was drawn in by the cast, however the actual movie doesn't really deserve the cast involved. I wondering how they managed to get in sort of TV level faces on such a weak script, until I saw the end credits... This is basically another horror anthology, however each of the cast writes/directs their own story segment. Mystery solved as to how they ended up in the film.

The problem is most if not all the actors do not seem to be great at writing or directing. The rest of the film is directed by someone with very few credits so far.

Aside from the very loud jump scares there is no tension or excitement. The jokes fail to land and its all quite pedestrian. Its not a satisfying watch, more something you may have on in the background while you do other things.

Unfortunately the ending doesn't really work and appears to be a set up for a sequel, which I cant see happening.

You may end up watching this based on the cast but you are unlikely to find it a rewarding experience.

Lots of laughs and a couple of scares.

[Jester222 · 6/10 · 9 November 2019]

Enjoyed this quirky British comedy horror. It has far more laughs than any scares although there was one quite brutal scene which stood out as much darker than the rest. All in all a fun watch that kept my interest. Not the best British comedy horror but far from the worst. Well acted from the great cast.

Half and half

[rocknrelics · 5/10 · 15 April 2021]

The cast are great including Kelly Wenham who I hadn't heard of before, as is the scene setting, but the stories they tell are absolute rubbish. The comedy element works well, it's just those stories..

Watched on Amazon Prime, and had real trouble hearing a lot of the dialogue, had to put headhones on as I had to turn it up to levels where the sound effects rocked the room just to hear the dialogue otherwise.

Didn't know where this was going - and I was glad

[bowmanblue · 7/10 · 20 December 2023]

I add a lot of random horror B-movies to my preferred streaming service's 'watchlist' and just plough through them without really knowing the exact story, besides it's probably got monsters or murders in it.

So I had no idea where 'Tales From the Lodge' was going. It started our normal enough - six friends go to an out-of-the-way lodge in the countryside (guess what - no mobile phone signal!) and I sat back expecting some sort of masked maniac to show up and start offing them one by one.

And I waited.

However, what I got was the characters telling stories from their own lives, some of which were true, others they freely admitted were complete fabrications. Now, I might have got bored with this, but the cast sold it for me. There are a couple of really good British comedy actors among the cast (McKensie Crook and Johnny Vegas always hold special places in my heart) and I got the impression that the whole group could well be friends in real life. There was plenty of banter between them and it gave off a nice realistic impression.

The dialogue was actually witty without being forced and sounding scripted (I wondered whether Johnny Vegas adlibbed some of his lines!) and there were nice little gags - like the spider and the collapsing bed which really did make me laugh out loud. Also, you get the impression that the film-makers never quite take the film seriously and they add a couple of moments which poke fun at the genre's cliches.

So, just because I didn't know where the story was going for about the first two thirds, I stuck with it because I was enjoying myself. Then comes the final third which does tie it all together and - maybe I'm just dumb - but I didn't see it coming. There is a bit more stabbing and more traditional horror tropes, but they're still fun - and pretty dark. So, if you do find this on streaming and you fancy quite a witty British black comedy horror, this one is pretty good. I'd definitely watch it again sometime.

Unfunny tales

[Stevieboy666 · 3/10 · 23 December 2021]

I watched the UK TV premiere of this but found it disappointing, both as a comedy and as a horror anthology. The only two actors that I had heard of is Mackenzie Crook and comedian Johnny Vegas. I find Crook's acting rather lacklustre, I wasn't impressed by his Worzel Gummidge either. Johnny Vegas, with his foul language and fart gags, is funny when doing TV sketches but his comedy doesn't work so well on the big screen. The short stories are rather lame, the best of a bad bunch has zombies and Vegas looking like Keifer Sujtherland from Lost Boys. The only thing that really made me laugh is when some ashes of a friend are thrown towards a lake but a sudden gust of wind blows them back and all over a group of mourners. Beware of fake reviews!

Average British horror comedy romp

[eve_dolluk · 6/10 · 5 November 2019]

5 friends, 2 couples 1 guy with a new Girlfriend head to a house in the country to spread the ashes of a friend who commited suicide in a nearby lake.

Yeah it sounds like every horror story ever made and it is but it trys to play on these horror tropes by telling stories about horror tropes.

Its not an awful concept but overall it just lacked an edge in its comedy and its horror and dwindled along. Having said that the last half hr did get interesting and was the best part of the film.

Unfortunately for me it was too little to late and even then was incredibly cliche.

The production was good and the acting adequate but overall nothing more than average. Would have been a 5/10 but the interesting ending bumps it up a star

6/10 - save it for a rainy day

Unlikeable characters and a nonsensical ending

[stevenrossiter171 · 2/10 · 12 December 2020]

It starts fine, moves along fine and then the reveal itself is quite interesting but everything that follows tone wise is all over the place

Lost me completely in that and the cliche of a killer not just killing their captives but talking and talking for no reason at all

In addition two of the more major characters were obnoxious and incredibly unlikeable

In summary, it was fine but completely came off the rails in the last twenty minutes which to me, means this film is a total bodge

Oh Miki, You're so fine. . .

[southdavid · 6/10 · 20 November 2020]

"Tales from The Lodge" is a British Horror Comedy that I found on Amazon Prime. Not quite a portmanteau film, as the overarching story is more involved than just a framing mechanism, the film still tells a number of shorter horror tales within the runtime.

Six friends, Married couples Joe (MacKenzie Crook) and Martha (Laura Fraser) and Emma (Sophie Thompson) and Russell (Johnny Vegas) as well as Paul (Dustin Demri-Burns) and his new girlfriend Miki (Kelly Wenham) come to a remote farm house to commemorate the passing of another friend, who drowned there three years early. As the friends get drunk and tell each other ghost stories, the increasingly isolated Miki decides to leave but then returns a few hours later having been attacked in the woods by a stranger.

Generally, the film is more successful as a comedy than it is a horror film. Five of the six stars gets to direct their mini-stories and though there's not a particularly spectacular one amongst them, they all work in the context of the film. I really liked how those stories interacted with the voice overs telling them, with the characters pausing or changing actions depending on how the narrator changed the telling. The best is probably Johnny Vegas' Zombie/Lost Boys one, which includes animation and visual effects - as well as some fourth wall breaking Zombie make up moments.

I don't like spoilers in my reviews, so I'll dance around the details here. I felt the resolution of the overall story let the film down a bit. I did see some of the twists coming and when you look back on it, the stories that the characters tell are often revealing about themselves. This whole final section doesn't quite nail the right tone, getting the mix of comedy and violence a bit wrong.

On the whole it's a bit slight and has a few missteps, but to say this was Writer/Director Abigail Blackmore's first feature, I'd say it shows some promise.

A Grim Wearytale!

[cleaver1968 · 2/10 · 26 August 2019]

All there is to say is that if this is the best that British filmmakers can do, no wonder the film industry is in the state it is. Dire is too good a word for this drivel.

Unexpected pleasure

[lukeshulver · 8/10 · 9 November 2019]

I wasn't expecting much when I stumbled across this title, but have to say I thoroughly enjoyed it. Quirky offbeat humour with a few laugh out loud moments and an absurdity that enhances, rather than detracts, from this mash up of camp-fire story telling, and comedy suspense. Definitely worth the watch and worthy of a better rating than it has on IMDB.

It's Okay

[Jiszmo · 6/10 · 29 November 2019]

The movie is about some friends who go to a cabin in the woods to scatter their dead friends ashes.. Then after a very long time something horror like happens. The end.

Not a bad movie. I actually liked the movie more before the very flimsy horror part. The friends hanging out and telling stories was actually pretty good and funny. Which is surprising because I was only interested in the horror part, to begin with.

The horror part is the annoying thing with this movie. Alot of people doing unbelievable things, like being paralyzed when the plot calls for it, but unparalyzed when the plot calls for it. (A paralyzed guy gets stabbed and can't even move to stop it. A paralyzed girl gets accused of infidelity and jumps right up to defend the accusation.). Or, there's a crazed killer outside, lets send a girl out alone to look for someone. Or, while she's out looking and the maniac is out there too, lets sit inside and tell more scary stories. Or, the very flimsy excuse for their to be a killer in the first place. (One night long ago, a guy ditches me to have sex with someone else. Let's kill everybody.) So, that's the pros and cons.

Good: interactions among characters, the stories they occasionally told Con: the overall horror story

So, I think this is pretty entertaining. Just a bunch of friends hanging out, till the very end, when the horror element started. I did find myself checking over and over again to see how much longer till it was over. I think it's worth a watch. There were a few funny moments and the characters and actors were likeable. The overall story though was paper thin, contrived, and unbelievable.

Oh Dear ! Infantile adventures in the woods

[jfryleach · 2/10 · 25 September 2023]

I keep watching these British films in the hope that we can produce something that has some merit, but alas here we go again.... Awful expletive ridden script (if you can call it that) with lots of screaming.

Exaggerated performances - Tick The men are either childish or stupid - Tick Vague storyline - Tick When I watch a film, I want to see at least a couple of likeable characters, but forget it with this - There is literally no entertainment value with this bomb. It's like a failed series pilot made for BBC3 with its infantile attempts at humour - You know the type where embarrassment and uncomfortable silences are substitutes for actual clever humorous lines.

A Truly cheap painful Tale....

Bad Writing and Incredibly Homophobic

[rebekahrainey · 2/10 · 12 September 2021]

This movie was such a disappointment The premise sounded great and it had the cast to carry it well, but the plot made no sense and by the final act it had devolved in to bare faced bigotry the likes of which I haven't seen since the Thatcher years and Section 28 - in 2019 there is absolutely no justification for it!

"Gay man, rejected by straight friend, goes on a killing spree and has a sex change for no reason" isn't a twist, it's just homophobic.

Off one's Brits

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 31 October 2019]

Now this may or may not work better for a British audience. But it will also depend on if the viewer likes the mix of thrill and comedy. This can seem annoying (especially a certain character portrayed in this), but it can also be just a lot of fun.

Don't overthink it, especially the twist towards the end, that may or may not be easy to spot from miles. Also the very end is quite ridiculous and made for laughs. Does it work? I'm uncertain myself, didn't quite like the note it ends on, but it didn't spoil the experience and fun I had before that (not political correct this is ... not really likeable characters it has)

Sheesh!

[Go_For_The_Jugular · 2/10 · 25 August 2022]

A non-sensical waste of a decent cast.

Absolute garbage! Nothing made sense, the characters and plot were paper thin! One of the worst films I've watched in a while.

Can't believe such a great cast would even give this the time of day.

Full of hollow characters and dull flashbacks.

Coming of Middle Age Dark Comedy-Horror

[kpbarrow · 7/10 · 19 December 2020]

I wasn't expecting much from this movie, but I enjoyed watching it, certainly it's better than the current 5.3 rating in my opinion.

The film has a weirdly warm feel, it's structured like a British horror anthology from the 70s/80s. The cast and acting is good, and the writing is really good in places. The framing device is friends meet at a fishing lodge to scatter the ashes of a friend who committed suicide there a few years ago. Just like the anothology movies, they tell eachother horrific tales. These aren't particularly horrific but are extremely well done, revealing a bit about each person's character, how well done they are isn't immediately apparent.

The dark comedy is classically British, stemming from the characters' various flaws and relationships. Not all the characters are entirely likeable, some of the behaviour is odd until you understand the motives. You do get a sense of long standing friends who know eachother well, accept eachother for who they are but have drifted apart slightly as life progressed for them.

It's hard not to write spoliers for this one, a lot of what is going on is very subtle and would probably benefit from a re-watch. The only real negative is the film goes of the rails a little before the end, but it isn't a huge flaw.

Bizarre mix of horror and comedy.

[nigelmacdonald-97173 · 4/10 · 29 November 2020]

This bonkers blend of dark humour and over the top horror almost works. It never takes itself too seriously and is quite original at least. Provided you take it with a huge pinch of salt and accept the limitations of its tiny budget, it should entertain those with an off beat sense of humour.

'A slice enough place to visit, but you may not want to slay there too long!'

[Weirdling_Wolf · 6/10 · 1 March 2022]

A disparate group of middle-raged misfits converge at a desolate holiday lodge ostensibly to get pie-eyed drunk, and scatter the ashes of an estranged friend, but in the trope-honoured tradition of Amicus Horror we are grimly introduced to a number of creepy-creaky comedy/horror tales, most oddly favouring a more jocular approach, all replete with more sardonic squabbling than spine-fingering fright, but it's amiable enough in its cosy sitcom, footsies up on the footstool fashion, but the writing just isn't sharp enough to bite through the somewhat plastic veneer. Abigail Blackmore's sporadically schlocky sequential shocker 'Tales From The Lodge' might still do in a pinch if you have seen Brit-horror classics 'Severance', and 'Inbred' one too many times, but with some wittier lines, and more inventive kills, 'Tales From The Lodge' might have been far more consistently engaging, but any splattery film with potty-mouthed Johnny Vegas resplendent in a blonde mullet wig wantonly wasting zombies can't be all bad, mayte! And, to be fair, the committed acting from a well-known cast of Telly-Box favourites is better than the rather tepid film deserves!

Sophie Thompson as a mother of three small kids?! Right.

[fedor8 · 5 September 2020]

An annoying cast chosen to portray annoying characters isn't exactly a recipe for success. A double negative doesn't make a positive; it's more like a double disaster. At least half of the characters are utter ey-holes (although not necessarily intended as such), and most of the cast are average over-actors; some are third-rate comics. This includes Emma Thompson's sister, a useless nepotist just like her famous, inept, airhead sister.

In fact, the bad casting doesn't end there. Even demographically/logically the actors are badly chosen. Emma's homely sister and the fatso playing her husband are far too old to be playing parents of three small children. Did the writer/director Abigail really consider Sophie Thompson young enough to have three kids all younger than seven? She was 57 at the time of the filming!

Dustin Burns is cast as a "hunk" who's "irresistible to women". Abigail is a woman (at least her name would suggest it, though you never know these days), so I gather she must have very low criteria. Or perhaps Burns is her good friend and she wanted to do something for his self-esteem by casting him as a "playboy".

So yeah, the casting is not good. These actors aren't very funny either, though admittedly Abigail's somewhat muddled script has a lot to do with it too.

The plot is all over the place. There is an actual story here, but it's also a quasi anthology - to a smaller extent. The first three "stories" (more like 5-minute vignettes) serve just as an excuse for the final story which acts as the big plot-twist.

Trouble is, I'd already figured out that Burns and Fraser had had an affair. (The exaggerated hostility toward his new girlfriend was a giveaway.) And I knew that the cakes were poisoned, this was obvious too. What I couldn't possibly know in advance is the idiotic sex-change twist. Kelly Wenham is far too good-looking to pass off as a former man. It's so ridiculous that it is neither credible nor remotely funny - as intended. Maybe if they'd cast Rosie O'Donnell I could believe in the sex-change, but then the problem would be: why would Burns want to date such a... thing?

An absurd sex-change is a joke that can be used in a mindless farce, or in an absurdist ZAZ comedy: these types of movies can get away with almost anything. However, TFTL isn't so far gone in absurdity that we can accept almost any kind of nonsense as a suitable plot-device. Not even close. For one thing, the characters are grieving over their friend, and Crook has heart problems. So it's not a farce - at all. It's a horror film with some humour in it. As a result, there are limits to the nonsense Abigail can throw at us.

As if the sex-change weren't bad enough, the movie then completely disintegrates at the very end when Kelly gets up several times despite having a knife sticking out of her. Suddenly, Abigail is telling us: "hey, this is just goofy absurdist nonsense, laugh please!" Well, no, Abigail, you should have set the tone EARLIER. You don't set the tone for a movie in its last 5 minutes, that's not how film-making works. You set the tone at the beginning, and then you stick to that tone. If you can't stick to the same tone then you go back to film school to learn how to.

There are some amusing moments, so it's not as though the entire movie is useless. Plus, it isn't boring. But the cast and characters - and to a lesser extent the dumb twist - bring the quality down noticeably.

57 year-old Sophie Thompson as a mother of three small kids... Ts ts ts... This really annoyed me for some reason. If anything, she appears to be even older than she is, could easily play a 65 year-old i.e. Burns's or Martha's mother rather than their long-time friend. Abigail must be cut off from reality, it seems. Movie types usually are. Still, she ought to know that Sophie is too wretched-looking to pass off as a 40something (which would still be pushing it, kid-wise) and she ought to know that there are probably ZERO 57 year-old women in the world with three small children of their own.

Workes as a comedy but not so much as horror

[aronharde · 5/10 · 18 November 2023]

Tales from the Lodge (2019) is a movie about some friends gathering at a lodge because their friend drowned in the lake nearby. After telling each other scary stories involving ghosts, murderers and even zombies they suddenly are trapped in their own scary scenario.

The movie has some great dry British humor and made me laugh several times and with that I really started to enjoy these characters, some of them more than others. The stories were decent but none of them were really great or stood out to me. They were simple and you could tell that the movies budget was limited. In general the comedy aspect of the movie is its biggest strength because the horror was not prioritized. I'm a huge horror movie fan and I was hoping for a decently scary horror comedy with great stories and some nice splatter but that is not what the movie is going for. I thought that the only thing that really worked for me was the comedy since the movie is hilarious at times.

The ending was predictable, even though there's a big twist that I did not see coming and that is really far fetched. Overall I'd say it is a decent movie and the characters and their humor save it from being a boring watching experience. [5,1/10]

Enjoyable movie-British Comedy Horror

[becdom · 9/10 · 26 March 2020]

I really enjoyed this comedy horror movie with a fab cast. It's about a group of old Uni friends gathering to say farewell to their deceased friend. They're holed up in a lakeside lodge, five friends and one outsider. Secrets, tension and story telling ensue! Watch it!

Worth a Watch!

[katerinarussman · 7/10 · 8 December 2020]

Loved Sophie Thompson in this - she has great comic timing!

Not Bad could of been better!

[steveuk-76085 · 6/10 · 13 November 2020]

I was hoping for a lot more considering the Cast, but I still enjoyed it. its an easy watch. Best part from the film for me was ( not surprisingly) Johnny Vegas's segment. There is a few laugh out load moments, definitely worth a watch.

Good old British humour

[glitterstarfish · 9/10 · 16 January 2021]

This is a British comedy horror romp, more comedy than horror certainly with, for me, a lot of laugh out loud moments. Twist was ok, but chill out bad review-y peeps, its not meant to be a cinematic marvel. Just enjoy it for what it is