We get some on-screen preamble before the events of The Lair (2022) unfold before us. Locating the film in conflict-ridden Afghanistan in 2017, we’re told that a US bomb strike on a certain province, intended to destroy an insurgent stronghold, occurred after alleged ‘disturbing activity’ in the area. So there we have it: we’re going to see that disturbing activity, aren’t we? It’s got to be that. And the film which unfolds is a watchable, but often sadly laughable blend of B-movie and po-faced real deal; this kind of disparity is, also sad to say, already becoming a hallmark of Kirkmarshall projects, of which this is the second of a steadily-increasing number.
Kirk plays Captain Kate Sinclair, a woman about to be parted from her child for a tour of duty in Afghanistan (we don’t get a lot on Sinclair’s domestic bliss, but just enough to remind us that motherhood is a great go-to backstory). Cut to the Middle East and – boom – Sinclair, not the most comfortable person in a cockpit I’ve ever seen, gets shot down alongside her companions in the super-remote Nangahar Province. The sole survivor, she quickly finds herself at the threshold of a long-abandoned Soviet bunker, which the pursuing Talibs obligingly blast open as they’re trying and failing to shoot her (though to be fair, they even more obligingly start off with swords versus her gun). Short on options, Sinclair heads inside; her enemies give her a head start, enough time for her to espy some very suspicious looking kit in the gloom – lots of Aliens-adjacent pods, bodies, and slimy tech – including a potentially handy camera, which she pockets. When the Talibs finally follow her in and there’s time for a bit of ‘nine stone woman decking an adult male’ nonsense – the kind which is itself a cinematic staple now – Sinclair escapes in the melee and encounters some whatever-they-were in the pods in rather more rude health. She again flees, finding her way back outside; here, she runs into a group of US soldiers investigating the crash site and surrounding area. They pick her up.
Back at their base, Sinclair tries to explain what she’s seen to a disbelieving team. They’re worried enough about a sudden increase in insurgent activity; she tries to warn them that there’s worse out there. Of course they’re convinced soon enough, when the creatures break loose and track Sinclair to the camp.
It’s not a bad idea for a film, and certainly not a bad idea for a sci-fi; if this feels somewhat like The Outpost (2019) spliced, a bit crudely, with a blend of Aliens (natch) and perhaps a bit of Storage 24 (2012) then it’s a fairly obvious splice, but not necessarily unthinkable – depending on how it’s done, of course. There are some good elements here. There are lots of panoramic shots which contrast well with the claustrophobia of the bunker/the camp when the proverbial hits the fan; the sets are pretty good, if owing a great deal to Mr. Giger in places; Marshall is wise, by now, to the potential of night scenes to generate a bit of mystery and doubt and the creature FX are decent, if again not the most original. Some scenes feel like direct re-treads of scenes from Dog Soldiers (2002), as much as there are some solid lessons there which bear a certain amount of repetition. Similarly, Marshall does know by now that less is more when it comes to screentime for the creatures themselves.
You know where this is going, though: whilst this film is not by any means as irritating and error-laden as The Reckoning in 2020, many of the same irritating tics persist and – look, there’s no other way to address this than by saying that Marshall & Kirk do not generate good screenplays together, based on the evidence to date at least. This is a quite separate issue to to Kirk’s performances, as an actor suddenly propelled to lead roles when perhaps one could argue this star-at-all-costs isn’t ready; it’s also a noticeable issue that Marshall seems unable to bear presenting Kirk looking beaten up and ugly, even when, for instance, her plane has just been blasted out of the air. He’s argued himself up to a neat, albeit make-up preserving streak of blood here or there perhaps, but it’s still eminently clear that Kirk has to look like a cover girl, come what may. It’s noticeable and it’s silly; critical consensus keeps picking up on this, but yet here we are again, priorities awry.
So, that’s one issue; then we have the writing bit – the characterisation, the script. Y’know, those pesky, crucial elements. These need to be in order for the film to fully work, but instead we get a strange, ragtag, Raggy Dolls bunch of sub-par soldiers, all bunched in one place for trivial misdemeanours; special mention for the arrival of a living, breathing set of Welsh stereotypes – one Sergeant Jones, of course – which made me, as a Welsh person, hide her face in her hands for a while; then there’s a scrappy script with some barely-there military plausibility; flat, childish lines of dialogue not spirited or self-effacing enough to be knowingly played for laughs; disparity of threat; jokey accents; and that photographic memory plot point: oh, come on! Actors Jamie Bamber and Jonathan Howard – together with Hadi Khanjanpour – just about hold the fort with their performances, but things still start to feel a little thin and aimless, despite all the (CGI-heavy) action sequences. There’s too many opportunities to disengage from these unbelievable people. That sort of thing needs to be combed out by a good script edit, and who’s doing that here? There aren’t the numerous historical faux pas which occur in The Reckoning, but there are plenty of mistakes here still, and they diminish the film.
Overall, The Lair isn’t a completely reprehensible project, but it’s a deeply flawed one, too derivative and too weighed down by its issues to really make the impact it could have. Perhaps Neil Marshall has forgotten what he used to know about genre film, because it really can be (and has been) more than this, and at his own hands, too. But treat genre film like a cheapo catch-all, super-simple star vehicle, and its fans will revolt; insincerity and pastiche are tough to overlook. Anyway, I gather that the next Kirkmarshall enterprise will be something about the gritty world of diamond smuggling; whatever else is around the corner, please God leave the Welsh out of it this time.
The Lair comes to Blu-ray, DVD and digital on 17th July 2023.