Forums Horror Movie Reviews
Crystal...No Longer The Scariest Lake - LAKE MUNGO

So when my ster pulled up her movie of choice for our Saturday night horrorfest...I was less than thrilled.

An Ause movie by the name of Lake Mungo (circa 2008) Part of the After Dark Horrorfest Now I've never been to Australia, but Australia has given us a lot. Nicole Kidman is hot, and Hugh Jackman isn't bad either.

However as far as Ause horror movies go, they've always left me exasperated and wanting to club a baby seal to death with frustration.

HOWEVER, this movie was the absolute exception.Shot in the new fad of documentary filming, the movie begins with the untimely death of 16 year old Alice Palmer.

She drowns in a dam while on vacation with her family.

My first instinct was an annoyed "oh great an Ause Paranormal Activity" but I was pleasantly surprised this wasn't the case.Sure it begins as a ghost story.

Alice's brother sets up cameras around the home hoping to capture an image of the beautiful girl the entire family is devastated without.

The family is what makes this whole movie work.

With genuine sadness, Alice's mother confesses that she never allowed herself to be close to her only daughter.

Her brother portrays very believable regret at never fully taking the time to get to know his ster.

Finally it is Alice's father that is most convincing.

Taking on the very realistic role of a father who throws himself into his work to escape his sadness, and his families grief. Grief which is downright moving.

I should say that at this point I paused the movie and hopped online to see if this was in fact real footage, that is how genuine the characters were.

You come to care deeply about this family, especially once you realize as the viewer this is more than just a ghost story. As psychics and friends, family and neighbors are interviewed, you desperately want to know, what DID happen to Alice? You will begin to search the screen for the smallest glimpse of Alice, as you are hit with the realization that every ghost lived a whole life beforehand.

As Alice's back-story unfolds secrets come to light, and just when you think you have the movie pegged, it changes gears entirely. As an avid horror buff, this movie had me on the edge of my seat the entire running time.

I can't reveal too much more.

This movie was like peeling an onion, layer by layer. However by the end of this movie not only will the characters and stories stick with you.

You will look around and begin to wonder what horrifying secrets those around you are keeping, and plan to take to the grave.

Just like Alice.

http://youtu.be/d2ISuVvP-XI
BloodAndRibbons Saturday 4/30/2011 at 12:22 AM | 75230
Great review!

It's nice to see Lake Mungo being talked about.

By far one of the best movies to come out in a long while and it goes to show that (yes hollywood pay attention) acting is important in a movie!

This is the type of movie that you want to go back and watch as soon as it's over so you can watch it from a new perspective than you might of had going into it....
NightShape Saturday 4/30/2011 at 03:01 PM | 75277
Fantastic review, love the clever title as well. This movie was engaging, moving, horrific, and downright scary all wrapped into one. I highly recommend to anyone who is a fan of the supernatural genre who can appreciate subtleties vs. over the top scares. I'm disappointed to hear there is posbly a remake in the works...there is no need to touch this one.
TheFreaka Saturday 4/30/2011 at 05:59 PM | 75283
I've heard rumor of a remake, but nothing official. I personally feel like, if it were made here, it would try to be big budget.

I don't need to see Selena Gomez as Alice.

The story needed to be filled with unknown actors to be believable.

Please don't mess with it America!
BloodAndRibbons Saturday 4/30/2011 at 07:35 PM | 75287
I concur with all of the above. This was a great movie and a great review of it! I was immediately drawn into the story due to the superb acting and the almost overwhelming sense of grief. This is definitely one that I want to watch again so that I can fully appreciate all of its subtleties.

I'm also left wondering how many other films that have been released as part of the After Dark Horrorfest are this good? I've seen a couple that I like now and I'm thinking that I need to make it a point to try and catch all of them. Any other recommendations from the series?
Horror_Gal Sunday 5/01/2011 at 12:00 AM | 75307
I concur with all of the above. This was a great movie and a great review of it! I was immediately drawn into the story due to the superb acting and the almost overwhelming sense of grief. This is definitely one that I want to watch again so that I can fully appreciate all of its subtleties.

I'm also left wondering how many other films that have been released as part of the After Dark Horrorfest are this good? I've seen a couple that I like now and I'm thinking that I need to make it a point to try and catch all of them. Any other recommendations from the series?

Thank you! I just reviewed another movie from that Horrorfest series, Kill Theory, at the link below.

viewtopic.php?f=255&t=13293

I will try to get a review up of the movie Dread as well
BloodAndRibbons Sunday 5/01/2011 at 01:20 PM | 75323
Really hope this doesn't get remade. This is truly a creepy film that I just watched again last night with my wife who saw it for the first time. Spine tingling is a good description for this film. It's a slow, believable burn that like you mentioned, is full of layers. I really recommend this to anyone that loves a good solid storyline and terrific acting.
Horror Domain - Cursed Evil Overlord Friday 5/06/2011 at 07:33 AM | 75599