Lake Mungo (2008) Review
Spoiler-free so you can read before you watch
Horrorific content by Jaredsoto on May 01st, 2021 | Movie Review | Supernatural, Found Footage, Paranormal Proof
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Strange things start happening after a girl is found drowned in a lake.
Lake Mungo is directed by Joel Anderson. It stars Rosie Traynor, David Pledger, Martin Sharpe, and Talia Zucker.
If you've never seen a ghost...look closer.
I had never heard of Lake Mungo until a couple of days ago from a Tik Tok that a friend of mine sent me. Apparently, some weird stuff happened after the release. The director and the stars of the film have yet to make another movie or star in any other projects since 2008. Sounds strange huh? Let's take a deeper look in Lake Mungo shall we?
Lake Mungo is about a girl named Alice (Zucker). Alice drowns during a family trip to Lake Mungo. No one knows how or why this happened. An important aspect of this film is that it's a mockumentary. To be honest with you all, this is probably the most realistic mockumentary I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot). The rest of the film follows the family and how the events after the drowning go down. It's a ghost story so you can expect a lot of ghostly stuff here and there. There is a sense of dread and sadness throughout this movie that never seems to let up. The atmosphere is what I really appreciate about this film. It does well at providing that sense of realism. After many ghostly scenes and well-acted interviews, the film does something interesting and does a complete 180 that I enjoyed, because it doesn't follow the typical horror formula. You will see what I mean and it works so well.
As the family continues to dive into their daughter's life, some horrific discoveries are made and really begin to complicate the investigation. Trust me, it's really interesting stuff and you will be flabbergasted.
The movie dives into the themes of loss, grief, and secrets. It really makes you think about if you truly know someone. I will say that this is a film that may require more than one viewing. There's a lot of stuff in here to swallow and not all of it may be digested at once. It's creepy, it's raw, it's sad, it's mysterious, and it's complex. Just to name a few.
Worth Watching?
I would definitely recommend this. I will say that this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you're looking for something with more substance than jumpscares, you're welcome. It's overall a solid and well done film. The story is deep and well written to the point where it can get complex, but you learn to appreciate it as the film progresses. Stay scary everyone!
