The Lodger (2009): Alfred Molina, Hope Davis, Simon Baker, Shane West, Donal Logue, Philip Baker Hall, Rachael Leigh Cook, Rebecca Pidgeon, Michael Agostini, Michael Albala, Daphne Ashbrook, Krista Ayne, David A. Armstrong, David Ondaatje, William Flicker, Michael Mailer, Scott Putman, Marie Belloc Lowndes: Movies & TV
The Lodger (2009): Alfred Molina, Hope Davis, Simon Baker, Shane West, Donal Logue, Philip Baker Hall, Rachael Leigh Cook, Rebecca Pidgeon, Michael Agostini, Michael Albala, Daphne Ashbrook, Krista Ayne, David A. Armstrong, David Ondaatje, William Flicker, Michael Mailer, Scott Putman, Marie Belloc Lowndes: Movies & TV
Amazon.com
Jack’s back, more or less, in The Lodger, a cleverly-plotted thriller-cum-horror story sporting a good cast and a nicely ominous vibe throughout. When Los Angeles Detective Chandler Manning (Alfred Molina) arrives at the scene of a prostitute’s grisly murder, the clues look awfully familiar. Seven years earlier, Manning had helped send to Death Row a killer whose M.O. was identical not only to this one, but also to that of the notorious Jack the Ripper, who terrorized 19th-century London but was never identified, let alone caught. Is this new monster, who goes on to kill several more defenseless hookers, a copycat? Or could it mean that the wrong man paid the ultimate price for the earlier crimes? Meanwhile, Joe and Ellen Bunting (Donal Logue and Hope Davis) rent out a room to a “writer” named Malcolm (Simon Baker), whose weird habits make him an obvious suspect. But there are several others as well, including Joe, who works as a security guard while Ellen nurses her active and rather twisted imagination, and even Det. Manning, a loose cannon type who may be a Jack the Ripper authority but whose life is a mess, what with an institutionalized wife and a daughter who blames him for her mother’s affliction. Adapted from a novel by Marie Belloc Lowndes, this tale was turned into a silent film by Alfred Hitchcock way back in 1927 and has been remade several times since. No one will confuse David Ondaatje, who wrote and directed this version, with Hitchcock, and those familiar with the genre will have little trouble predicting how it all turns out. Nonetheless, The Lodger is a good ride, guilty pleasure or not. –Sam Graham
Product Description
Alfred Molina (Spider-Man 2), Hope Davis (About Schmidt), Shane West (The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen) and Simon Baker (TV’s The Mentalist) star in this terrifying thriller. The Lodger follows a seasoned detective on the trail of a ruthless killer intent on slaughtering prostitutes along West Hollywood’s Sunset Strip. It appears that the murderer’s grisly methods are identical to that of London’s infamous 19th century psychopath Jack the Ripper - a relentless serial killer who was never caught by police. To make matters worse, the detective soon notices the parallels between the crimes committed by the West Hollywood stalker and those of a serial murderer incarcerated years ago. Could the wrong man be behind bars? Also starring Rachael Leigh Cook (Nancy Drew).
Some Reservations,
By LuvNJustice “LuvNJustice” (NYC, USA) - See all my reviews
The classic novel inspired by the Ripper murders gets an update and a change of venue. The focus alternates between intriguing scenes between Simon Baker in the title role and Hope Davis, and standard cop fare with a miscast Alfred Molina as a Hollywood cop teamed with his callow partner. They’re working the Ripper angle of a spat of Hollywood killings and note such “little known” lore about the original crimes as the fact that Jack The Ripper was never caught. Um…okay. The picture’s really well shot, but there are some pretentious touches of classical music playing during the murders. The final scenes though are suspenseful and at least you don’t see the resolution coming from a mile off. I just wish the picture had focused more on the Davis-Baker relationship, as the two stars are quite good.
“Visually compelling”, but altogether flat, & rife with errors,
By Steve Kuehl “SLV Video” (Ben Lomond, CA) - See all my reviews
In watching the docu on the DVD I felt using the director’s words could best sum up their mission; visually compelling. An incredible B movie feel with several A list actors, the Lodger relays a modern retelling of a Jack the Ripper story taking place in LA.
The film crams together many annals of material into a couple short hours with plenty of JtR references and parallels. Molina, West and Hope give some convincing performances, and I suppose any die hard JtR fan will watch this anyway, but I find that most people will likely be bored with all of the material being left out or not explained. Technically, the crew made a fun film, filled with plenty of unique camera shots, fast forward footage, rapid close ups of Ripper memorabilia, etc.
The DVD has several minutes of deleted scenes, and a 20 minute docu on the production. Nothing new there, but maybe this will provide a brief filler for those customers always looking for that decent suspense thriller on a smaller budget. The 20 day shoot made for plenty of bad shots (heavy rain and fake thunder with clear blue skies in the background, pointless character fills, 10-15 untouched plot points that leave you asking why did they introduce them, Alfred Molina looking disinterested throughout the film, etc.). The fact that Molina and Davis have worked together before did not show through at all in this piece, so I would say skip it for their time, but maybe watch if you need your JtR fix.
Dread Central review!,
By J. M. Siebalt “Dread Central Editor” (Boston) - See all my reviews
As I was watching, I enjoyed it, but the more distance I get from it, the less memorable it becomes. At one point Malcolm tells Ellen, “I’m not particular … about food.” If you’re not too particular either, then it could be just the light taste of Ripper mayhem that you’ve been craving since being sucked in by the disappointingly unsatisfying From Hell and other similar fare. Otherwise, you may want to give it a pass.
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