“A chilling look at the reality of family tragedy.”
When many people hear “Australia,” the first things that normally come to mind are crocs, snakes, spiders, outback, etc. What many fail to realize is that the Australian people are also great filmmakers! What they do best is reach the viewing audience on all levels. Whether it’s extreme horror such as The Loved Ones and Wolf Creek, or the psychological dramas such as Snowtown and the more recent The Babadook, the Aussies know what they’re doing in the horror genre.
In 2008, a low budget indie film emerged and has been hailed as an instant cult classic in the found footage fan community. This film is known as Lake Mungo. Written and directed by Joel Anderson in his first full length feature, it made its way through various film festivals starting with South by Southwest in Austin, TX and the Traveling Film Fest Wagga Wagga in Australia, before being picked up by the After Dark Horrorfest in the U.S. resulting in mostly positive reviews.
THE PLOT
The film follows the Palmers, a local family of the city of Ararat. Following the tragic drowning loss of the 16 year old daughter, Alice (Talia Zucker), the recount of the story is told through documented interviews with Alice’s parents Russell (David Pledger) and June (Rosie Traynor) and brother Mathew (Martin Sharpe) as well as local friends and co-workers.
Soon after Alice’s disappearance and her body’s eventual recovery, strange things begin to take place in the family’s home. This leads Mathew to set up cameras in the hopes of capturing evidence that maybe Alice’s spirit is present. As the family reviews the evidence, which leaving them with more questions than answers, they contact a local psychic named Ray Kemeny (Steve Jodrell) hoping for some sort of closure. Soon, things get stranger and new evidence surfaces leaving everyone wondering what kind of secret life Alice may have been leading. Now the Palmer family must take things into their own hands in order to solve the mystery of their beloved Alice, with the hopes that she will finally rest in peace.
SHOULD YOU SEE IT?
Being a HUGE fan of paranormal found footage style films, it was a surprise to me that I had never heard of this gem of a film years ago. Thanks to some reliable sources, I was encouraged to give it a view and am VERY glad I did! It’s a very engaging and compelling film, to say the least. Although not a film for everyone’s taste, it’s definitely one I would recommend to a fan of this genre of film. The acting is top notch, and the cinematography is excellent!
Even though I would call it more of a psychological drama than a straight up horror film, it does have some very well executed scenes of tension and dread that can leave the viewer emotionally drained by the time the credits start to roll. (By the way…be sure to watch through the credits for the added bonus). To get the full effect, I would give the same advice that I received: Turn off the lights, cut out all distractions, and really GIVE yourself to the film. You won’t be disappointed. Excellent film!
