Tonight's Horror Movie: Little Bone Lodge (2023)

OK, before I get started, a disclaimer: I have had a crush on Joely Richardson since I first saw her as the princess in King Ralph. I will literally watch her in anything. I'll re-watch the extremely average and silly horror movie Event Horizon just because she's in it. I sat through every torturous season of the garbage show Nip/Tuck just because she was in it. Hell, I even watch her corny Hallmark movie with Gary Sinise, Fallen Angel, every dang Christmas. What can I say? She makes me tingly, and no less so now that she's nearly 60 years old. She's still elegantly beautiful (I guess having Vanessa Redgrave as your mother helps with those good genes). And she's also quite a talented actress.

So, obviously, when I saw that she was the lead in a British horror/thriller from 2023 called Little Bone Lodge, there was no chance I was not going to watch it as soon as possible. The movie was written by Neil Lipnow (who also stars in the movie as Jack, Richardson's primary adversary), and directed by German filmmaker Matthias Hoene.

Uh-oh. It's "Ze Germans." That should give you a hint of how twisted this movie might get. So, let's dive in...

Little Bone Lodge plays off of two common devices in movies, especially horror films. The first is the home invasion theme, and the second is the always fun "they knocked at the wrong door" trope. (Actually, there are three tropes, as this is also primarily a chamber movie, like the last I reviewed, You'll Never Find Me.)

The film opens on -- what else? -- a dark and stormy night, where Richardson's Mama lives in a country home with her daughter, Maisie (Sadie Soverall, Saltburn), and a wheelchair-bound "Pa" (Roger Ajogbe, The Sandman), who is also seemingly an invalid. He is non-verbal, and Mama has to see to his medication on a very tight schedule. It's a little weird, to be sure, but all evidence shows that Mama and Maisie have great love for Pa and for each other.

Of course, their harmony is interrupted just a couple of minutes in when the knock comes at the door. Outside is Matty (Harry Cadby) and his brother Jack, who is severely wounded from a car accident. Mama does not want to let them in, but Maisie pleads with her that they have to help them.

Once inside, we learn a few things about our ensemble, first of all, that Matty and Jack are obviously criminals who are on the run. No real surprise there. Matty also seems to be on the autism spectrum somewhat. He is functional, but very childlike in many ways and often takes to striking himself when he is upset. But we also learn something about Mama, who expertly tends to Jack's wounds and also seems skilled at calming Matty when he gets upset. We also learn that Mama mysteriously keeps many portions of her country home locked up and no one is allowed to go in those places. (Cue ominous music.)

The movie breaks from the chamber theme just a bit as Jack convinces Mama to take him back to the scene of the accident so he can get Matty's belongings (actually a bag of money he owes to a gangster). She reluctantly agrees but demands that Matty stay locked in his room while they are gone, to protect Maisie and Pa. Of course, Maisie immediately unlocks the door, where she reveals to Matty that she is completely isolated, with no friends, by Mama. The two get along fine though, until Maisie turns on her radio which she keeps in secret and we hear a radio broadcaster talking about the manhunt for Jack and Matty, before Matty gets upset and breaks the radio.

On the trip with Jack, we learn a few more things about Mama. He guesses she was a nurse, but she responds that she was actually an anesthesiologist (uh-oh). Arriving on the scene of the accident, Mama spots a third member of Jack's gang, Michael, who is dead in the back of the car. This is when things turn sinister. Jack threatens Mama about all of the horrible things he's done that she can't imagine. Her response? "You don't know my life." (UH-OH!)

The movie is still being played straight to this point though as Mama and Jack return to the house, except now he is holding her at gunpoint.

Until we get about 40 minutes in. That's when a police officer shows up at Mama's home, ostensibly as part of the manhunt. Jack and Matty hide, with more threats from Jack, and tell Mama to get rid of the officer.

This is when the movie gets turned on its head completely. This is also where I will stop recapping the plot because, frankly, you wouldn't believe me if I told you everything that happens after that. You can guess a few things, e.g., the captors become the captives, Mama's secrets are very dark (oh, you have no idea), but you honestly have to see it for yourself. One thing I can say is that all of the questions you ask in the first 40 minutes will get answered in the remaining 50 (such as, "Why is Pa so constantly medicated?"). Even though I do like movies that leave unanswered questions for the viewer to ponder, this movie just has to answer them or none of it would really work.

Which brings us to the question of, "Is it worth it for you to see it for yourself?" On this question, I will give a guarded answer of "yes" for a couple of reasons. The first is Richardson. Of course, as I stated at the outset, I am really biased here, but for me, she absolutely delivers in the role of a woman who takes loving her family to some insane extremes. If you know Richardson's career as well as I do, she has a talent for playing super sweet characters (like in The Patriot), but she can also do someone with a dark side very well. The supporting cast is solid, particularly Soverall whose Maisie begins to become increasingly horrified about the family she lives with over the final 50 minutes of the movie.

This is not to say the movie is perfect. It has many flaws, particularly in a plot that stretches your ability to suspend disbelief...even for a horror/thriller. By the end, some of it even seems a little bit silly and I did laugh once or twice at some of the plot developments (not the intended effect of the writer or director, I am sure).

The movie is paced very well, with only one or two scenes that drag a bit, but at just over 90 minutes, Little Bone Lodge packs a lot into a short time. There are a few cinematography gimmicks I am not a fan of (like the overuse of shooting a room at an angle), but overall, I thought it was good directorial work by Hoene.

In terms of gore, this is a pretty violent movie, but it is not particularly gory in the horror movie sense of the term. Fair warning, however: though you don't see a lot of really grisly scenes, you do see the aftermath of what were grisly scenes, and that is pretty disturbing in itself. I would probably give it a Gore Score of 4/10, but a lot of that is due to the viewer's imagination. There is one scene in particular, in one of Mama's locked rooms, that will stick with you for a long time afterward.

Overall, if you like Richardson's work as much (or even half as much) as I do, you will enjoy this movie. If you are less of a fan, I would probably only give this a mild recommendation.

One piece of wisdom you will definitely gain in watching Little Bone Lodge is this: Do Not F*ck With Mama Bears.