The Lie
The Lie (2018 film)
| The Lie | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Directed by | Veena Sud |
| Produced by |
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| Written by | Veena Sud |
| Based on | We Monsters by Marcus Seibert and Sebastian Ko |
| Starring | |
| Music by | Tamar-kali |
| Cinematography | Peter Wunstorf |
| Edited by | Phil Fowler |
Production company |
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| Distributed by | Amazon Studios |
Release date |
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Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | |
| Language | English |
| Budget | < $10 million[3] |
The Lie is a 2018 American-Canadian psychological horror film written and directed by Veena Sud. The film is a remake of the 2015 German film We Monsters,[4] and stars Mireille Enos, Peter Sarsgaard and Joey King.[5] Jason Blum serves as a producer under his Blumhouse Television banner.
The Lie premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2018, and was released on October 6, 2020, by Amazon Studios.
While on her way to a retreat arranged by her ballet school with her father Jay (Peter Sarsgaard), Kayla (Joey King) picks up her friend, Britney (Devery Jacobs) who is going to the same retreat. Britney tells Kayla that her “asshole” father said he would drive her to the retreat himself, and then broke his promise. Excused by a bathroom break, Britney and Kayla go into the woods. A few minutes later, Jay hears Kayla scream and finds her sitting on a bridge, alone. Kayla claims that she pushed Britney off the bridge because she was “being a bitch.” Jay takes Britney’s purse and rushes with Kayla to his ex-wife, Rebecca (Mireille Enos) who works as a corporate lawyer.
Jay explains to Rebecca about what happened and tells her about an unexplained bruise on Britney’s face. Britney’s father, Sam (Cas Anvar) appears at their house and interrogates Jay and Rebecca about his daughter's whereabouts. When he insists on talking to Kayla, Rebecca comes up with an excuse and says she is not at home and is sick at the doctor’s office with her father Jay; who had previously suggested that Kayla should go to a hotel for a few days. Sam discovers that Rebecca lied and that both Kayla and Jay are actually at home. A physical altercation ensues between the two men, and Sam threatens to report the family to the police. Rebecca contacts her ex-colleague, Detective Kenji Tagata (Patti Kim) and says that she suspects that Sam abused his daughter. When Kenji interrogates Sam, Sam tells Kenji about Britney’s sudden and mysterious disappearance. Detective Tagata also interviews Rebecca and Kayla, to which the latter explains that Sam had a very bad temper and would hit Britney.
When Jay takes Kayla to his apartment in downtown, she walks out and is followed and chased by Sam but escapes successfully; she hides in the house from Sam. Jay and Rebecca go up to Sam's house to bury Britney’s phone but Sam catches them in the act. After a violent altercation with Sam, he and Rebecca immediately flee. When Sam shows up in front of their car to prevent them from leaving, Rebecca purposefully hits him. Jay and Rebecca consider calling for help, but stop and instead watch as Sam begs them for help before dying in the road.
The next morning, a very much alive and well Britney appears at their house; much to both of their shock. She reveals to Kayla’s parents that it was an elaborate plan all along that she herself created so she could spend alone time with her boyfriend. Britney witnesses Jay and Rebecca cleaning blood off their car and behaving oddly, she is very uncomfortable by this and insists on seeing Kayla. Afterwards, Kayla also speaks up and tearfully admits that she went along with Britney’s plan and agreed to only pretend to push her off the bridge so that the “tragedy” would bring her divorced parents together like how it was during her childhood. As the family embrace and Kayla begs her parents not to leave her, incoming police sirens are heard.
The movie ends in a cliffhanger, not knowing what would become of Kayla’s parents and whether or not Sam did, in fact, abuse his daughter; as the bruise on Britney’s face at the beginning of the movie was never explained. Based on the bruise on Britney’s face at the beginning of the movie, along with Kayla’s statement to Detective Tagata about Sam’s temper (even while she herself knew all along that Britney was actually alive and well); it is implied that he was an abusive parent.
Cast[edit]
- Mireille Enos as Rebecca Logan, Kayla’s mother and Jay’s ex-wife
- Peter Sarsgaard as Jay Logan, Kayla’s father and Rebecca’s ex-husband
- Joey King as Kayla Logan, Jay and Rebecca’s daughter and Britney’s friend
- Cas Anvar as Sam Ismali, Britney’s father
- Devery Jacobs as Britney Ismali, Sam’s daughter and Kayla’s friend
- Nicholas Lea as Detective Rodney Barnes
- Patti Kim as Detective Kenji Tagata, Rebecca’s ex-colleague
Production[edit]
Principal photography on the film began in January 2018.[6] Its working title was Between the Earth and the Sky.[5] The film is set in Canada[7] and shot in the Toronto area.[8]
Release[edit]
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 2018.[1] In August 2020, Amazon Studios acquired distribution rights to the film, and premiered it on October 6, 2020. Along with Black Box, it's one of the first two movies released from Blumhouse Productions's 8-film anthology Welcome to the Blumhouse.[9]
Reception[edit]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 42% based on 71 reviews, with an average rating of 5.10/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Queasily compelling without ever truly coming together, The Lie won't fool many viewers seeking worthwhile horror fare."[10] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 46 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[11]
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