Writer: Neil Linpow
Director: Matthias Hoene
There are few surprises in this nasty thriller set in a farmhouse miles away from anywhere, a farmhouse in a raging storm, a farmhouse with no phones. The film’s biggest asset is Joely Richardson, who plays a mother determined to protect her family from intruders, but, of course, things aren’t exactly how they seem.
There are some good ideas in Neil Linpow’s script and in how he skewers the home invasion genre, but secrets and real identities are revealed too soon. What’s left is a well-made, if slightly predictable, cat-and-mouse chase around the farm and its outbuildings. Fortunately, each actor puts in a good performance making the time slip by easily enough.
Richardson’s character, known only by Mama, is at home with her daughter and her husband when two young men come knocking on her door. Jack and Matty are brothers who, with their bags of stolen money, are on their way to Norway. But their car has crashed and Jack has been impaled by an oversized screw which sticks out of his stomach.
Mama is not just good at keeping sheep, she is also a dab hand at minor surgery and she’s able to pull out the screw and sew up the wound with no problems. However, Jack isn’t that grateful and soon he demands that Mama drive him back through the rain to the wreckage of his crashed car.
Jack’s younger brother Matty is the most interesting character in the film. Matty has some learning differences that cause him distress and, while Jack takes care of him, Matty doesn’t feel particularly safe or loved. Jack mostly shouts at Matty, which only makes matters worse. As Matty, Harry Cadby is excellent and his desire for a home is strongly signalled by the young actor.
Linpow plays Jack who seems to have bullied his way through life. There is a decent side to his character, but it is shown in one of the less likely scenes of the film. Without giving away too much, there is a gruesome story contained in the farmhouse but its Hostel visceral vibe seems a little schlocky.
Richardson puts in a suitably creepy performance veering from caring matriarch to full-on psychopath. Her stoical Mama is an Old Testament God, and she will exact her revenge in the way she sees best. Richardson’s calm motherly qualities contrast to those of the gangster family to which Jack belongs. But despite a late exploration into family dynamics from Mama and Matty, not enough is made about ideas of home and being wanted.
It seems the wrong film for a summer release – director Matthias Hoene shoots mainly in shadows – but those who are not too squeamish can always pull shut the curtains.
Signature Entertainment presents Little Bone Lodge on Digital Platforms 22nd May.
