The Lair (2022) Review

From ‘Dog Soldiers’ Director Neil Marshall, The Lair is an action packed adventure full of guts and gore. When British RAF Pilot Kate Sinclair (Charlotte Kirk) finds herself under attack from insurgents in war torn Afghanistan, she seeks sanctuary in a seemingly abandoned bunker, unaware of the horrors within.

The military setting is a recurring theme in Marshall’s work, and The Lair explores the cultural differences between the range of services featured. Any differences are soon forgotten when the British, US and Afghan forces realise they are together targeted by an unknown enemy who hunts the group indiscriminately.

The Lair was a little more light-hearted than I was expecting, with a thread of humour throughout that does detract slightly from the contrastingly gruesome kills. Whilst the comic relief, particularly from the Welsh ‘Jones’ (Leon Ockendon) is amusing, it feels a little disjointed, making the more serious moments not land as well as they could have.

Whilst I wasn’t personally a fan of the ‘creature’ itself (which lumbers around clumsily like someone trying to stumble home from the pub after a few too many), the feature does have a number of notably grisly kills that had the audience simultaneously recoiling in horror and cheering with delight.

Given the near cult status of his previous work, Marshall does have a lot to live up to, which sadly does The Lair a bit of a disservice. Despite this, as a stand alone piece it does have a number of qualities that make it fun overall, but the balance of humour and horror is a little off, which stops The Lair from attaining its true potential.

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