LAKE MUNGO (2009)
This is definitely a movie that the less you know going in, the better it is, so I am going to make this particular review short, sweet and to the point…
Written and directed by Joel Anderson, Lake Mungo is a spooky and subtle story of the tragic death of young Alice Palmer (Talia Zucker), the seemingly supernatural events that follow and the journey these events take her family on. Australian flick is filmed like a documentary and quietly draws us into the mystery of the events following Alice’s death through the painful testimony of her family, mother June (Rosie Traynor), dad Russell (David Pledger) and brother Mathew (Martin Sharpe). Are they being haunted by Alice?…or is it the emotional effects of her drowning? The answers are not only unexpected, but chilling and sad as well. Anderson crafts a well-done thriller without any special effects or gore, just loads of atmosphere and old fashioned goose-bump inducing chills. The cast all perform like real people and give this faux documentary a chilling realism that goes a long way in making it work.
This little horror kinda flew under the radar, playing a few festivals here in the US and in it’s native Australia, but deserved more attention than it got and is definitely worth a look by horror and thriller fans, who don’t mind something a bit more subtle, yet effectively bone chilling. Recommended.
-MonsterZero NJ
Rated 3 (out of 4) spooks.
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