An alarming medical diagnosis forms the jumping-off point for a psychedelic odyssey in Codey S. Wilson’s Lesions. In the aftermath of an experimental medical treatment aiming to treat his affliction, Houston (Alexander McPherson) heads to an isolated cabin in the woods with estranged partner Lise (Elsa Ames). The pair hope to come to terms with the new reality of his situation, but she’s struggling to care for her man, and tensions arise as his symptoms begin to bubble to the surface.
The last thing Houston needs, then, is another problem. This comes regardless, in the form of a gang of masked lunatics who’ve taken notice of Lise for one of her social media posts. Intent on turning the couple’s cosy getaway into another Cabin into the Woods horror film, the interlopers lay siege to Houston and Lise’s holiday home. And lo, couples’ bonding time is suddenly turned into, uh, couples’ bondage time. For one of them, at least.
It may boast a gang of serial killers wearing sinister masks, but Lesion is far from just another Cabin in the Woods horror film. Mask-wearing weirdos are a dime a dozen these days, but Wilson manages to find novelty in their unknowability – leaning into the surrealism with bouts of unexpected bloodshed, and an impromptu dance sequence. And where is Houston where all this is going on? He’s got his own thing to deal with. In its blend of mind-bending psychedelia and bone-crunching violence, it’s best described as The Strangers meets Mandy…. with a hefty dose of doing its own quite bonkers thing for good measure.
In his first feature film, Wilson comes out of the gate strong. It’s a striking debut from a filmmaker who clearly has much to say, and no compunctions about getting weird with the delivery mechanism.
LESIONS premiered at Tubi FrightFest on August 29, 2026.
