The defence The Arthouse Gremlin
“Its refusal to behave is the point.”
The strange choices create the kind of friction that follows you out of the theatre and into the argument.
Back to trending 
The Lodger
Thriller · Mystery · Horror · 1944
In Victorian era London, the inhabitants of a family home with rented rooms upstairs fear the new lodger is Jack the Ripper.
Movie details
The Lodger
“PROBING EYES that marked the woman he loved for death!”
1944 Thriller · Mystery · Horror 1h 24m
Critical arithmetic
One number, for now.
Scores change. Arguments endure.
TMDB
6.5 / 10
Community rating
In Victorian era London, the inhabitants of a family home with rented rooms upstairs fear the new lodger is Jack the Ripper.
CriticWise case file
What this film says about your taste.
Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.
The archetype split
Who fights over The Lodger?
For the defence
The Arthouse Gremlin
“The stranger, the better.”
Read their case For the prosecution
The Popcorn Loyalist
“Big screen, big feelings, no apologies.”
Read their objectionThe split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.
Taste neighbourhood
Nearby on the taste map.
TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.
Watcher
Horror · 2022
As a serial killer stalks the city, Julia — a young actress who just moved to town with her husband — notices a mysterious stranger watching her from across the street.
From Hell
Horror · 2001
Frederick Abberline is an opium-huffing inspector from Scotland Yard who falls for one of Jack the Ripper's prostitute targets in this Hughes brothers adaption of a graphic novel that posits the Ripper's true identity.
Goodnight Mommy
Horror · 2022
When twin brothers arrive home to find their mother’s demeanor altered and face covered in surgical bandages, they begin to suspect the woman beneath the gauze might not be their mother.
Cult Killer
Mystery · 2024
A private investigator is forced into a dangerous alliance with a killer in order to uncover a quiet town’s grisly criminal underbelly and clear the name of her mentor, who is implicated in the crimes.
The Pale Blue Eye
Thriller · 2022
West Point, New York, 1830. When a cadet at the burgeoning military academy is found hanged with his heart cut out, the top brass summons former New York City constable Augustus Landor to investigate. While attempting to solve this grisly mystery, the reluctant detective engages the help of one of the cadets: a strange but brilliant young fellow by the name of Edgar Allan Poe.
Bone Lake
Horror · 2025
A couple’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. In this darkly hilarious and seductive horror story, a dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.
Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte
Horror · 1964
An aging, reclusive Southern belle plagued by a horrifying family secret descends into madness after the arrival of a lost relative.
Shades of Desire
Horror · 2023
After her twin sister Aubrey goes missing, Jennifer uncovers the scandalous, secret double-life that Aubrey leads - and that has put both of them in danger.
Barbarian
Horror · 2022
In town for a job interview, a young woman arrives at her Airbnb late at night only to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked and a strange man is already staying there. Against her better judgement, she decides to stay the night anyway.
Black Christmas
Horror · 1974
As the residents of the Pi Kappa Sigma sorority house prepare for the festive season, a stranger begins to harass them with a series of obscene phone calls.
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Names above the title
The people responsible.
Cast & crew
Directed by
John Brahm
Written by
Barré Lyndon
Merle Oberon
Kitty Langley
Laird Cregar
Mr. Slade
George Sanders
Inspector John Warwick
Cedric Hardwicke
Robert Bonting
Sara Allgood
Ellen Bonting
Aubrey Mather
Superintendent Sutherland
Queenie Leonard
Daisy the Maid
Court is in session
Put The Lodger on trial.
Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.
The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist
“Oddness is not depth.”
A film can break every rule and still leave nothing behind but the memory of how hard it tried to be singular.