This was quite the year for horror at the Sundance Film Festival.The Hole in the Groundis set to make its way into theaters on March 1st,Little Monstersgot snatched up by Neon and Hulu, and then we also hadVeronika FranzandSeverin Fiala’sGoodnight Mommyfollow-up,The Lodge, sell to Neon, too. Not a bad path for three of my favorite films of the festival, right?
I fell hard forThe Lodgeand can’t wait for you to experience this chilling nightmare for yourselves, but while we wait for Neon to date the movie, how about a brief chat with Franz, Fiala and two of their stars,Riley KeoughandLia McHugh? Keough plays Grace, a young woman with a troubled past who’s in a relationship with a man (Richard Armitage) with two children (McHugh andJaeden Lieberher). The kids don’t like her much so in an effort to change that, their father suggests that Grace spend some alone time with them at their secluded cottage. This probably goes without saying but good intentions don’t exactly pave the way to a delightful winter wonderland vacation. Instead, a storm rolls through and traps the trio in the home, and that’s precisely when creepy and questions things begin to occur.
The morning afterThe Lodgecelebrated its world premiere at Sundance, Franz, Fiala, Keough and McHugh stopped by the Collider Studio in Park City to talk about makingThe Lodge, the challenges of shooting a key scene of the movie on the ice, their experience with the electric Sundance midnight crowd, and more. You can hear about all of that and watch the group play a round of “Would You Rather” in the video interview at the top of this article. And, if you’d like, you can use the handy conversation breakdown provided below.
I’d also like to take a moment to give special thanks to our Collider Studio partner, the all new2020 Kia Telluride, which was transporting filmmakers to our studio in celebration of the debut of the all new model, Kia’s first eight-passenger SUV that is several inches longer and wider than the brand’s award-winning Sorento.
Libations were also flowing at the Collider Studio with parties hosted byLIFEWTR, Tequila Comisario, Sensi Tuscany Wines, Blue Moon Belgian WhiteandDragonfly Coffee Roasters. Food during the parties was provided byGreene St. Kitchen of Palms Casino Resortlead by Chef Du CuisineLanny Chin. Brand partners active during the day includedmou, a luxury footwear and accessories line, andThe Wild Immersionendorsed by Jane Goodall who was on-site with the world’s first “virtual reserve.”
Riley Keough, Lia McHugh, Veronika Franz & Severin Fiala:
Here’s the official Sundance description ofThe Lodge:
Devoted to their devastated mother, siblings Aidan and Mia resent Grace, the younger woman their newly separated father plans to marry. They flatly reject Grace’s attempts to bond, and they dig up dirt on her tragic past—but soon they find themselves trapped with her, snowed in in a remote holiday village after their dad heads back to the city for work. Just as relations begin to thaw, strange and frightening events threaten to unearth psychological demons from Grace’s strictly religious childhood.
