Most horror films that rely on haunted artefacts usually rely on an overloaded setting in a confined space. By creating real tension and fear through an atmosphere of tension and compelling twists and turns.
Adam Ethan Crowe’s hideout started strong with a promising premise but didn’t gain momentum or invest in character deepening. The result is a frustrating and uneven mess. Despite the solid visuals and a solid twist towards the end.
Lair ended up being a straightforward horror fiasco due to its dull appearance.
Lair begins with Ben Dollarheid (Oded Fer), who brutally murders his wife and child. Who later pays the visit in the prison by his friend, occult expert Stephen Caramor (Corey Johnson). While Dollarheid asks for answers as to why Dollarheid commits such heinous acts.
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Dollarheid claims to be possessed by a haunted artefact. One of the many items that Caramor himself gave to his friend. A sceptic, Caramor initially ruled out the possibility. But after Dollarheid’s lawyer (Alexandra Gilbrit) asked him to consider it. He decides to carry out his dangerous experiment.
By renting out his late father’s apartment as Airbnb, Caramor fills the apartment. With all sorts of damn goodies every night, trying to figure out which one led to the alleged ownership. After installing cameras in every corner, Caramor rents the house to Maria (Aislin Deat), Carly (Alana Wallace), and their children.
Between watching the woman voyeuristically blur on camera across the hall and the family crawling with her confession. That she placed an object with a ghost in it, it goes wrong. Especially for families who don’t know the real danger they are in.
Despite their aesthetic beauty, these series don’t stack up into a captivating story:
Which is also overshadowed by unnecessary time jumps that only confuse viewers for that reason. Lair’s main problem lies in the narrative’s execution. As Crowe is unable to present a consistent flow of events.
Without being obliterated by sudden side steps and subplots that add no meaning to the whole story. Some scenes are supposed to be horrifying, for example. When Caramor sees demonic hands with claws wiping the air under the bed. For a split second or bloodshed with torn people ensuing.
Another glaring issue with Lair is the lack of naturalistic dialogue. Especially when it comes to Karamor, whose dry, the sarcastic expression seems so forced that jokes and taunts fall apart. After all, they shouted, “Mother Dragon!” Once a person is torn to shreds of blood. This is not a natural reaction, although if done right, it can act in the spirit of reckless black humour.
However, this is not the case with Karamor, which means that. As the film’s main character, he does not provoke empathy and make the audience apathetic about his fate and motives. Other than that, Oded Fer’s character is the most endearing. Even though it’s only in the film’s early moments that we’re offered to see the man.
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As a compliment, Lair has impressive camera work and a great monster design. Especially when the essence haunts one of the artefacts. Despite appearing on the screen several times. The camera didn’t stay long on the subject. Which moved at a frightening speed and looked like a designer’s nightmare.
The above series also did pretty well, but it was over when the movie finally got interesting. Bottom line, Lair could be a solid entry into the horror genre. If it wasn’t hampered by a confusing storyline and poor performance. That only leaves audiences wanting something far more substantial than it has to offer.