A chronic-illness love story meets The Strangers in Codey S. Wilson’s debut feature film Lesions. Houston (Alexander McPherson) and Lise (Elsa Ames) are a couple going through a divorce when Houston’s grandmother dies. On the way to her funeral, Houston collapses, and Lise takes him to the hospital, where he is diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
While he and Lise are still reeling from the news and trying to navigate the new path in front of them, Houston opts for an experimental treatment. Advised by the doctor to go somewhere isolated to rest and heal, they retreat to Houston’s grandfather’s house in the woods. But their healing is abruptly cancelled when masked strangers break into the house, and they have to fight for their lives.
Lesions is a perfect balance of heart-wrenching love and empathy, and creative kills brutal enough to sustain any gore hound. The two tones achieve near perfect equilibrium, whipping the viewer between devastation for a strained but profound love, and shock at the violence throughout. The brutality of a revenge story strapped to a home invasion makes for a viewing experience unlike any other. The film feels deeply personal, and the understanding of a family navigating a chronic illness diagnosis is perfectly clear. The performances by McPherson and Ames are so captivating and realistic, it feels like watching a couple you know try and reckon with terrible news.
Their relatable, rocky love is set against the stoic and downright mean nature of the group of killers. Five masked figures, including one man who is approximately the size of a refrigerator and one tiny woman for contrast, play a game when they go hunting for humans. The masks are horrifying, and most of them are unlike that of any other killer in horror (except for the woman’s, since she opts for the ever-creepy plain white face). They speak almost no dialogue and the audience gets minimal backstory.
Their lack of reasoning makes them even scarier, drawing a parallel to the famous line from The Strangers: “Because you were home.” However, there are a few scenes in which the killers seem cartoonish, or even silly. They would be more effective if they kept the steady stance of stoic, silent killers. Still, they are frightening, and the masks take the fear a long way. Five killers against two victims is dangerous enough that the stakes are sky-high.
The film looks and sounds incredible, with a beautiful score that matches the shifting tones of the story perfectly. The setting of the family home isolated in the woods is breath-taking and frightening – there is so much space for the killers to sneak around, but also for Lise and Houston to hide. And, like any self-sufficient home in the country, there are plenty of makeshift weapons in the tool shed. Comparisons to Mandy are apt, down to the unsettling TV commercial featuring a puppet talking to children.
Lesions will likely gain a devoted following, and quickly, as fans of revenge, dark love stories, and of course blood and guts find their way to it.
Lesions had its international premiere at FrightFest 2026 on Saturday, August 29
