“Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.” - Edgar Allan Poe
For a very long time this was an obscure reference for anyone who wasn’t a hardcore horror nut. It was difficult to find just to watch, let alone find it on physical media. If you did want it on physical you had to buy a four film combo pack and that was it. That was your one and only option. Luckily, as major studios are turning their backs on physical media, niche boutique companies are picking up the slack as much as possible. And one of those companies, Second Sight Films, heard the decades long plea from collectors to give us a proper version of Lake Mungo. And finally in early 2022, they gave us what we had been asking for: Lake Mungo on Blu-ray in beautiful packaging with lots and lots of behind the scenes goodies. They delivered big time.
If so many people were yearning for a proper release of this particular movie, it must be good, right? As with all art, interpretation is at the behest of every individual. I love The Babadook, many call it pretentious and horribly boring. It Follows is nonsensical to many, wonderfully crafted to others. Lake Mungo, to a mainstream audience, would call it boring, stupid, not scary whatsoever and sloooow. As someone who loves it, I can see their point. If ever there was a movie that I really enjoy that most will loathe, Lake Mungo is a safe bet for top contender.
If you love it you become mildly obsessed with it. When you learn its writer and director, Joel Anderson never made another movie, before or since, it makes you wonder what could have been. Did he believe himself to be a one hit wonder? If Lake Mungo is as dread fueled as it is, I can only imagine what else he could have done. While still very much alive and working in the industry, he clearly has no intention of ever coming back. Sixteen years after its debut, Lake Mungo is still talked about the world over, from Australia where it was born, to places like my house in good ol’ US of A.
Lake Mungo is a cult classic for many reasons including its notorious nature of being difficult to find. Luckily those days are over. Think of it as an Australian Blair Witch Project only much better. One of the strongest characteristics of Blair Witch that gave it such a lasting effect is the conviction of the cast. Lake Mungo is no different in that regard. Every actor, at every moment, is absolutely committed to their roles. You believe this is a real family suffering through a personal tragedy. They convince you that awful things started only after the death of their loved one. To complete the believability they ease out the scares. Instead of an onslaught of jump scares and silly effects, it’s kept low budget with a local, small scale approach focusing on the girl, her past, the family’s present and what death really means in the grand scheme of things.
Created to feel like a real documentary, it plays like a real incident being investigated by local news affiliates gathering eye witness accounts from family members, friends, medical professionals, law enforcement and unexpected additional characters one could only describe as walking, talking monkey wrenches. “They gum up the works” as the saying goes.
Lake Mungo begins tragically with the main character dying in an officially ruled accidental drowning. Her family is naturally devastated but has no choice but to bury her and try to move on. It isn’t long after her death that her family begins to experience strange occurrences in and around their family home. Unsettled and out of ideas they turn to a supposed psychic and parapsychologist to help find answers. During the posthumous investigation into the young girl’s life, the psychic begins to learn of a disturbing double life her family knew nothing about. Amidst the investigation a series of clues begin to emerge directing them back to the place where it all began, Lake Mungo. Nothing is what it seems. If you take anything away from this family’s tragedy let it be this, we can never truly know one another, even those we love most in this world.
It works in the shadows of a dimly lit room. The grain of a twenty year-old camera only enhances the mystery of it all. It forces you to focus, often seeing nothing only for one moment to occur and suddenly you spot something. A silhouette of a figure in the corner of a room. It sends shivers down your spine. A lot of what makes this movie so effective is playing footage and coming back around to it with an explanation and once you’re aware of what it is you’re supposed to be looking for, and then you see it, it takes your breath away.
I love this movie because it is effortlessly creepy. The characters feel real, like a true family trying to make sense of death and what it means to be complicated in life, secretive and guarded from those who trust you the most, judge you the least and protect you from anything. It’s about a girl, young and trying to find her way in life while trying to mistakenly retain a life unknown and beholden to her and her alone. On one hand you can understand the desire to want something all to yourself but to the degree of which she goes to keep secrets, some absolutely monumentally earth shaking, is sad, frustrating and in the event of her death, unsolvable.
Lake Mungo is not about frightening you. While it does have its moments that are made to scare you, its focus is on unnerving you. The goal is to leave you feeling uneasy. It raises the hairs on the back of your neck and it’s done in a way that feels authentic, as if it did or could happen. By keeping it grounded, it takes even the most skeptical among us and simply displays the evidence, unbiased and unmistakable, leaving anyone that watches it absolutely reeling. And even the most unbelievable moments stick with you regardless if they seem plausible, with the smallest of voices saying, it may be unlikely, but, “What if?” It’s enough to drive anyone mad.
Rated R For: a scene of sexuality, and brief gruesome images
Runtime: 87 minutes
After Credits Scene: There is a photograph that flashes briefly. If you’re invested in the movie, maybe stick around.
Genre: Horror, Drama, Mystery, Found Footage
Starring: Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe, Talia Zucker
Directed By: Joel Anderson
Out of 10
Story: 9/ Acting: 9/ Directing: 10/ Visuals: 9
OVERALL: 9/10
Buy to Own: Yes. Officially on Blu-ray from Second Sight Films.
Check out the trailer below:
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