Review of Lake Mungo (2009) by Lara D — 01 Feb 2011

It's like Dateline meets Ghost Hunters, which should've made for a great combination, but then someone forgot what story they were telling.

This isn't a scary film by any means, but I give it credit in its effectiveness as yet another faux documentary. The cast was so strategically chosen it's hard to believe they're even actors and they way in which this was filmed really made me think I was just watching another episode of Dateline or Unsolved Mysteries, which is the only reason this gets a slightly higher rating from me.

The storyline in this film is really where it starts to fall short. Though I appreciate wanting to remain subtle in special effects and not wanting to give too much away in hopes of making the audience pay attention, there is such a thing as being too subtle. Some really dark secrets came to light for this family and yet none of them were really explored or explained. I find that incredibly hard to believe. And though I did feel the sincerity and deep sadness this family was going through, they just remained way too calm in light of their daughter's sudden death.

Decent film, but leaves a lot to be desired.