Lake Mungo tells the story of 16 year old Alice, who drowns after swimming in the local dam. Her family tries to deal with their loss and put themselves back together, and so begins anything but a typical story of love and loss. Despite this 2008 Australian film having much in common with the Blair witch project and Paranormal activity this film is far more effective in the execution of its mock-documentary style and thus becomes a far better film.
Via pieces of film that are thrown together the story is told through what claims to be family home movie clips, interviews and still photographs with voice overs.
As Alice's family tries to come to terms with her death, strange events begin to unfold in the house. Documentated by the son, the family calls in a sort of paranormal psycho-analyst and their journey sets off down the road to not only some truly bizarre happenings, but some unexpected discoveries about a daughter that they will realize they never really knew all that well.
Though I would hesitate to label this movie a horror film there is much unexplainable phenomenon and creepiness involved. This movie works on many levels that films like Blair witch and Paranormal do not. It's interesting for one thing. It keeps you sucked into the story and you are left wondering what will be revealed next. It gives you answers then continues to set off into entirely new directions throughout.
I went into this film with no details other than it was about a girls death and the events that followed and I think for one to truly get the most from it the same consideration should be given to other viewers. Therefore, I shall say nothing else about the general details behind the story and what transpires. One thing I do wish to point out, and I promise this is the last time I shall namecheck those other films, is that when I started watching Lake Mungo I groaned upon discovering it's mock-documentary filming style and even contemplated turning it off. I just am so sick of these films that utilize found footage, hidden footage, and the mock-doc footage to tell their story.
This film is head and shoulders above all the rest of those other films, and though I think that it's unfair to compare it to them the similarities do exist and I felt the need to point them out. If you feel like I do about those type of films do put any skepticism out of your mind and try to enjoy this film on it's own merit because I do feel anyone who watches it will be able to do just that. Enjoy it, I mean.
It's dark and it's creepy and it will keep you guessing. It's a film about secrets. It's a film about secrets buried within secrets. It probably demands extra viewings to catch all the tricks. I found the whole thing extremely enjoyable and I did not want it to end.
I think the way the story is put together and told through it's documentary style worked very well here. I felt like I was watching a true story even though I knew that I was not. This theory largely works though because I am not an idiot.
The film raises a lot of questions, and with caution I should point out that not all of them will be answered. It's a film that will allow the viewer to interpret many things for themselves and this proved to be something that I found to work very much in its favor.
I did some research on the film and was hoping to find some information on the budget as it is no doubt very low, and came up empty handed. Though I did discover that the high-jackers of the Ring franchise are planning to roll out an American version in 2011. I am not sure how that will work as I am certain the budget will be considerably larger, which seems like it would take much away from this films initial charm. I highly suggest anybody who is looking for something dark and a little bit different to check out the original film here.
Anybody who can claim to be entertained by the Blair witch project or Paranormal activity, sorry I had to mention these two turds yet again, should definately be pleased with this film as I found it to be far superior to both. If you were bewildered with those two films, like me, maybe this will be something that you will find much more to your liking. It's one of those Horrorfest "8 films to die for" movies and should be very easy to find. Not gory in any way the film is just dark and creepy enough that one should find it to be quite entertaining and interesting to watch. I know that I certainly did.
***Original blog post date 4/6/2010***
No comments:
Post a Comment