TALES FROM THE LODGE is Fun Most of the Time, but Disastrous in the End

Several friends visit a secluded lake house to mourn the death of their buddy. As their weekend away progresses, each shares a fictional story but finds themselves in a scary story of their own. Written and Directed by Abigail Blackmore, Tales from the Lodge has a lot of unique anthology stories within. However, the ending is a gross exploitation that is simply inexcusable in this day and age.

[spoilers warned later in the review]

When their close pal Jonesy dies by suicide, five friends head out to his lakeside lodge to scatter ashes and pay their respects. Paul (Dustin Demri-Burns) throws a wrench in the weekend by allowing his new girlfriend to tag along. The rest are a bit unnerved by this, as it should be a deeply close, personal moment for them and not a time to bring around a new fling.

As they settle in and reconnect, they each begin to tell short tales one-by-one — stories of masked killers, horny ghost possessions, a zombie apocalypse, and more. While they try to have a good time, despite the sadness and tension looming over them, they soon realize they might be at the center of their own real-life horror.

THE GOOD

While anthology series may be a bit played out, Tales from the Lodge utilizes it differently. The main cast, including Mackenzie Crook, Laura Fraser, Sophie Thompson, and Johnny Vegas, directed their characters’ tales — a unique premise that allowed each short to shine in its own way.

The tales ranged from truly creepy to hokey to seriously funny, and all five were a ton of fun to watch. But the film still focuses on the main story of dealing with the death of a close friend.

While the subject matter is heavy, the film maintains a dark comedic tone. The first two parts of the movie are fantastic examples of effective short films. It is truly a shame that it didn’t end when the tales were finished being told, as it takes an upsetting turn.

THE BAD (spoiler warning)

Throughout the film, we are teased that something may be amiss with Paul’s new girlfriend Miki (Kelly Wenham). It’s pretty apparent, so it isn’t a shock when the twist comes around and involves her, but fine given the film’s overall wacky nature. However, what transpires as the “twist” is just downright offensive.

You see, Miki isn’t just some random girl. She is Jonesy. Sick of secretly crushing on his dear friend Paul, and feeling dismissed by his other friends, Jonesy faked his death. His plan becomes to transition, make Paul fall in love, and then exact his revenge. There is no clarification that Jonesy indeed felt female, just that he wanted to hide his true identity.

This is such a dangerous message to send that trans people are only out to trick you. That transitioning is a means to fool everyone rather than an extremely personal journey to one’s true self. 

A Transrespect report gathered 369 “reported murders of trans and gender-diverse people between 1 October 2017 and 30 September 2018” around the world. When trans people live in fear of attack over being doxxed, it’s extremely harmful to continue pushing this narrative of “trans-trickery”.

I want to offer support to female filmmakers, and I don’t wish to shame Blackmore for her plot, but I hope she is simply not educated on trans issues; and that this can be a learning opportunity for her and others. It would be great if the film could edit out the hurtful ending, as it is a fun movie throughout, but I don’t feel right promoting it with such a travesty left in it.

My message to filmmakers who plan to make movies based around communities they are not part of: make sure you are including someone who is in the production. I could imagine if Blackmore had spoken with a trans person or group, she could have been made aware of the harmful message her film carries. It’s 2019, and narratives like this are simply not acceptable.