Review of Lake Mungo (2009) by Thomas W — 03 Oct 2010

Don't let the cover art mislead you. And man, is it trying to mislead you ...

"Lake Mungo" is a subtle, thoughtful, and unreasonably spooky ghost story that uses the faux documentary format not as a gimmick, but as a crucial and effective method of casting a spell on its audience.

I've seen many, many horror films in my day and am so jaded and desensitized to their techniques that it's very rare for a movie to really affect me. But as this Australian indie progressed, I felt a palpable feeling of dread, and found myself shivering - actually shivering - with goosebumps along the way.

The story focuses on a family who have lost their teenage daughter to drowning and are trying to cope with the grief. They have become, the film's opening credits tell us, the focus of a "media frenzy" because of the high profile disappearance case, and then of the alleged supernatural activity that begins to plague their household after the discovery of their daughter's body.

The film never cheats on its format, remaining true to the documentary structure and refusing to break that "fifth wall" by stumbling into narrative territory. Ghostly encounters aren't seen directly, but recounted in interviews. The filmmakers utilize occasional reenactments, but stop way short of trying to reenact the actual ghostly encounters - the character recounts seeing Allie sitting in her chair, and we linger on footage of the empty chair.

The horror movie woven throughout 'Lake Mungo" plays out in our own minds, not on the screen.

That is, until the moments where we're shown alleged photographic and video evidence of the ghost itself, which are by far the most unsettling moments of the film. The film doesn't take a stand for a long time as to whether these images are authentic, and in fact there are twists and surprises along the way to cast much of the proceedings into doubt ... but that leads up to a third act that is remarkably satisfying, and a sequence in the titular Lake Mungo (not actually a lake, but a desert) that ranks among the most terrifying moments I've ever seen in a horror movie.

"Lake Mungo" has, at its center, a deep ache about it. It is a document of grief as much as it is possibly a document of a haunting. Inside this finely structured film is a good, old fashioned, melancholy and heartbreaking ghost story, the kind that lingers long after the credits roll. It's been in my head now for almost two full days, and I've actually been nervous to look into a dark room since the film ended.

Of the final revelations about what happened at Lake Mungo, it is best not to say much ... except that the chills I felt run up the back of my neck still come back if I think on it too much. There is something universal and primal at work in the central story of "Lake Mungo," the kind of horrific ideas that seem awfully FAMILIAR to the viewer, as if we've always such things are possible, but choose in daylight to pretend we don't ... that doesn't make much sense, but I bet it will when you see the film.

For me, it made me feel like I did when I was a child and encountered a scary story that wouldn't leave me alone when the lights went out. It underscores what makes ghost stories so universally effective - the ideas that stories of ghosts are, ultimately, stories of loneliness and inevitability.

This is instantly one of my favorite horror films, and the director (Joel Anderson) has leapt to the top of my list of exciting directors to watch out for. My first two thoughts as it ended were "oh my god, I have to see that again..." and then, more than ever ... "Fuck Paranormal Activity.".