LAIR

UK, 2021, 96 minutes, Colour.

Corey Johnson, Alexandra Gilbreath, Aislinn De'Ath, Alana Wallace, Anya, Oded Fehr, Sean Buchanan.

Directed by Adam Ethan Crow.

Lair has won a considerable number of awards at specialist film festivals. It has strong fans. It also has a number of non-fans who are not persuaded by the dialogue or the characterisations. This review tends to the latter.

The setting is London, the audience seeing a man killing his wife and child, arrested, gone to trial, his claiming that he was influenced by a supernatural power. He had been working with an American colleague, played by Corey Johnson (quite an unsympathetic screen presence and character, rather alienating for the audience). His friend decides to film a test with some alleged supernatural objects in a flat to prove his friend’s claims. He also invites an expert ally from the United States to collaborate. He also invites a family to occupy a unit in an unoccupied building site. The mother has been recently divorced, is in partnership with a friend, has two daughters.

On the one hand, there is a drama of watching the family, installed cameras, the filming, which is creepy in itself. On the other hand, there are disputes within the family, going on outings in the street and accosted by their landlord, wanting his alleged devil doll back from the little girl and offering a teddy bear which has a camera in it. There is also the emotional tugging between the two women. And the teenage daughter invites some friends over to her mother’s anger – which leads to violence and death.

Are all these aspects hallucinations? Or are they the effect of a diabolical supernatural presence?

The police investigate, the friend has his own violent difficulties, the family is disrupted.

And, there is a final unexpected twist, focusing on the imprisoned man’s lawyer and the claims about supernatural objects – and her auctioning them for the highest bidder.

For some and interesting horror film. For others, a curiosity.