Tales from the Lodge (2019) - Didn't know where this was going - and I was glad

I add a lot of random horror B-movies to my preferred streaming service's 'watchlist' and just plough through them without really knowing the exact story, besides it's probably got monsters or murders in it.

So I had no idea where 'Tales From the Lodge' was going.  It started our normal enough - six friends go to an out-of-the-way lodge in the countryside (guess what - no mobile phone signal!) and I sat back expecting some sort of masked maniac to show up and start offing them one by one.

And I waited.

However, what I got was the characters telling stories from their own lives, some of which were true, others they freely admitted were complete fabrications.  Now, I might have got bored with this, but the cast sold it for me.  There are a couple of really good British comedy actors among the cast (McKensie Crook and Johnny Vegas always hold special places in my heart) and I got the impression that the whole group could well be friends in real life.  There was plenty of banter between them and it gave off a nice realistic impression.

The dialogue was actually witty without being forced and sounding scripted (I wondered whether Johnny Vegas adlibbed some of his lines!) and there were nice little gags - like the spider and the collapsing bed which really did make me laugh out loud.  Also, you get the impression that the film-makers never quite take the film seriously and they add a couple of moments which poke fun at the genre's cliches.

So, just because I didn't know where the story was going for about the first two thirds, I stuck with it because I was enjoying myself.  Then comes the final third which does tie it all together and - maybe I'm just dumb - but I didn't see it coming.  There is a bit more stabbing and more traditional horror tropes, but they're still fun - and pretty dark.  So, if you do find this on streaming and you fancy quite a witty British black comedy horror, this one is pretty good.  I'd definitely watch it again sometime.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that