Burdened by a cliche-ridden burnt-out-cop movie screenplay and over-the-top performances that don't mesh, this is a thriller that doesn't thrill as much as it irritates.
Comment
03/02/09
The Lodger (2009)
17
%
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work 
Reviews Counted:23
Fresh:4
Rotten:19
Average Rating:3.6/10
Consensus: An accomplished cast can't save a derivative suspense flick that manages to confuse and bore rather than thrill.
Theatrical Release:Jan 23, 2009 Limited
Synopsis: The tale that inspired Alfred Hitchcock's THE LODGER gets a modern sheen in this thriller that features a star-filled cast. Hope Davis plays a woman who takes on a mysterious lodger (Simon Baker),... [More]
Starring: Simon Baker, Alfred Molina, Hope Davis, Shane West
Director: David Ondaatje
Get This Movie
Rent DVD
Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.
Buy DVD
Reviews for The Lodger
It takes guts to remake what many believe to be Hitchcock's first masterpiece, but what Ondaatje's done with The Lodger could not be mistaken for ambition.
01/22/09
Deviates not an inch from its rickety template.
01/25/09
While noirish films may appear beyond their welcome, 'The Lodger' compels attention by intricate plotting.
01/12/09
What might have played out as a passable whodunit becomes instead a frustrating drag.
03/13/09
Ready-made for 3am HBO viewing, The Lodger is an unnecessary remake of a story that's already been covered more than enough times, thanks.
02/17/09
...The Lodger ends up just another modern-day policier, on the order of an extended "Law & Order" episode.
01/26/09
Stark, raving nuts
01/22/09
This faux Hitchcock mystery whodunit will only have you guessing why they bothered to remake it in the first place.
01/23/09
There's a big cast of characters and the suspense is nicely drawn out, punctuated with just enough bloodlust to keep horror hounds happy.
02/10/09
Nodding, winking and sighing, The Lodger lumbers its way to a final twist so anticlimactic and silly as to warrant an incredulous titter.
01/22/09
This strained, empty effort doesn't work as homage or update, and in its darkly violent sensibility has neither the glamour of Brian De Palma's referential nightmares or even the narrative fuel of the serial-killer-obsessed procedurals that dominate tv.
01/23/09
Top CriticA virtual tsunami of directorial incoherence %u2014 arbitrary visual cliches of the clouds-speeding-across-the-sky variety, and some of the most inappropriate use of classical music in the history of movies.
01/26/09
Filled with second-rate Brian DePalma twists, noirishly blurred lights and usually solid actors mouthing potboiler brine, The Lodger resembles bottom-shelf '80s dreck.
01/23/09
The cast works hard to make you believe they believe what the screenwriter tells them to believe. But in the end, it all seems contrived and silly.
01/28/09
Top CriticA good cast can't save The Lodger, the utterly wrongheaded fourth movie version of a 1910 novel inspired by Jack the Ripper that was most famously filmed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1926.
01/23/09
Top CriticUnlike Terence Davies, whose use of the cinematic past becomes a felt element in his storytelling, writer-director David Ondaatje repeats the past so inexpertly that The Lodger (an update of Alfred Hitchcock’s 1926 film) is almost comically schlocky.
01/21/09
The Lodger is a spooky story ruined by lumpen dialogue, cloddish performances and a director and writer (David Ondaatje) oblivious to both.
01/23/09
Top CriticThe director playfully taunts with the copycat notion of a little of Jack The Ripper in any man, in this flashy when not murky copycat thriller, and those particular unhealthy fixations manifested in varying degrees on both sides of the law.
01/18/09
Stylish cinematography along with a pulsating musical score make for a somewhat chilling experience, but had writer/director Ondaatje kept the story focused on the serial killings investigation without going off on poorly developed tangents, the film woul
01/30/09
Latest News for The Lodger
February 13, 2009:
The director playfully taunts with the copycat notion of a little of Jack The Ripper in any man, in this flashy when not murky copycat thriller, and those particular unhealthy fixations manifested in varying degrees on both sides of the law. 
More...
February 06, 2009:
The director playfully taunts with the copycat notion of a little of Jack The Ripper in any man, in this flashy when not murky copycat thriller, and those particular unhealthy fixations manifested in varying degrees on both sides of the law.
More...
January 30, 2009:
The director playfully taunts with the copycat notion of a little of Jack The Ripper in any man, in this flashy when not murky copycat thriller, and those particular unhealthy fixations manifested in varying degrees on both sides of the law.
More...
November 26, 2008:
Trailer & Poster review
More...
RT On Current TV
What’s Hot On RT
Fresh Links
Featured
Best Dozen of the Decade
Last week, MSN gave us their top 09 films. Now see what their favorites of the decade are!
Top 50 of 2009
Here's a list of the 50 best movies of 2009, according to the good people over at Moviefone.
Santa's Naughty List
Hollywood.com takes a stab at determining who in movies will be on Santa's naughty list in 2009.
Top 10 Movies of 2009
TIME chimes in with their own list of the best films released this year.
Top 20 of the Decade
Click through to see which movies BuzzSugar placed in their Best-of-Decade list!
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter
Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!
RSS Feeds