The Lair (2022) Review by Phil Newton
The Lair (2022) Review
The latest Shudder Original release by Acorn Media International sees acclaimed British director Neil Marshall reteam with actor/writer Charlotte Kirk after their successful collaboration, THE RECKONING, back in 2020. THE LAIR received its World Premiere at London’s prestigious FrightFest last August and now arrives on shiny disc with a bonus ‘Making Of’ featurette, available to buy from 16th July.
Kirk plays Capt. Kate Sinclair, an RAF pilot shot down over Afghanistan. With her partner killed by Afghan insurgents, Sinclair flees into an abandoned Russian bunker where she discovers a research lab full of long-dead bodies and a container full of cylindrical glass pods that seem to be keeping something not-of-this-world in stasis. Needless to say the ensuing gunfight smashes one such tank, awakening said creature which is possessed of ferociously sharp jaws and claws, and super strength and agility.
Having radioed for help, Kirk is eventually picked up by a team of soldiers led by Sgt. Tom Hook (Jonathan Howard) and taken back to their base where she’s interrogated by their commanding officer, Major Roy Finch (Jamie Bamber). Of course no-one believes her story… until in the dark of night something attacks the camp and the blood starts flying. It’s now up to this “Dirty Half Dozen” of “burn-outs, wash-outs and fuck-ups” to bond together and fight back in order to survive and stay alive.
From the moment the credits appear in the recognisable John Carpenter font, Marshall’s influences are clear to see – he even finds an opportunity to re-use the classic line, “you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” just to hammer it home. So yes, THE LAIR mixes THE THING (creature from another world gets loose) with ALIEN 3 (woman dropped into hostile environment with bunch of misfits), with the banter of Marshall’s debut feature DOG SOLDIERS thrown into the mix for good measure. On paper this seems like a winning combination, and for sure there’s fun to be had if you’re in the mood for some switch-your-brain-off nonsense – but it’s all so derivative you can’t help being reminded of other better movies.
There’s certainly plenty of action and shoot-outs to enjoy, and the effects, a mixture of practical and visual are decent, however The Lair is undermined by hokey dialogue and some questionable acting. Bamber, so convincing as Adama in BATTLESTAR GALACTICA, seems to be channelling Matthew McConaughey here with much less success, Leon Ockenden’s Jones is the most clichéd Welsh character ever, and Kirk fails to convince in her role as an elite soldier. You’re far better off rewatching Marshall’s THE DESCENT which remains one of the best British horrors of this century.
