The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog
A serial killer known as "The Avenger" is on the loose in London, murdering blonde women. A mysterious man arrives at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting looking for a room to rent. The Buntings' daughter is a blonde model who is seeing one of the detectives assigned to the case. The detective becomes jealous of the lodger and begins to suspect that he might be the avenger.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 1, 2025
Was looking forward to seeing this, one of Hitchcock’s earliest works. After having watched it, I realized I probably should have researched it a little more beforehand because there are some different versions on various streaming platforms. The version I watched was comprised of a digital restoration done in 2012 with a new score and soundtrack composed by Nitin Sawhney. Though image is restored nicely, I really did not vibe with this particular score. And its made even worse with a couple glaringly out of place song choices complete with vocals and lyrics. It’s jarring and it sounds completely out of period. In fact, it sounded so modern and played it back at 1.75x and I thought it sounded exactly like an Ellie Goulding. This score also gives nods to other classic films and even has the Psycho musical stings featured briefly and it just feels a little too meta. Bottom line, the 2012 score is off putting and takes away from the experience.
Apparently, there was a 2017 Criterion Edition which utilizes the same 2012 digital restoration but has a completely new musical score as well. I’ve heard this is the version to go with but I haven’t seen it first hand. There are earlier releases as well that have differing musical scores that accompany it. The narrative worked well and it’s pretty awesome to see such an early work from Hitchcock. Was really taken out by the score, unfortunately.