The lake mungo remains are three sets of human fossils. Jun 07, 20 when i started lake mungo, i wasnt expecting to find anything that was able to quench my thirst for horror, and maybe thats why i ended up enjoying it so much. As the horror develops, the characters trauma does as well, reaching honest catharsis in the end. But so is the psychic, and the neighbours, and alices school camp to lake mungo. The family then experiences a series of strange and inexplicable events centered. Lake mungo will have its first australian television screening on wednesday the 6th at 10pm on sbs one. The film centers on the idea of life after death, however deep behind the film s veil lies an uneasy pretense that is rooted in grief, sadness and the coping of death.
It employs a mockumentary format using actors in place of interviewees to tell the story of a family trying to come to terms with the drowning death of their daughter and the potentially supernatural events they experience after her death. Watch til the end, youll be glad you did, as things keep unfolding in this true not made up. This film makes one think hard about life after death, psychic phenomena, intuition, and more. Aug 18, 2009 but so is the psychic, and the neighbours, and alices school camp to lake mungo. Lake mungo is a feature film about grief and the harrowing 12 months that follow the. Although the film is accurately based on violence of teenagers these days asked in movie ratings. Sixteenyearold alice palmer drowns while swimming in the local dam. What seems like an open and shut case of accidental death, is turned upside down with the start of strange events within her family home. Presented as a documentary about alices family, lake mungo is. If you were not told otherwise, you would easily believe lake mungo to be a genuine. With rosie traynor, david pledger, martin sharpe, talia zucker. The suspension of disbelief is completely achieved.
Lake mungo young alice drowns during a family vacation, and the familystricken with griefstart noticing weird things. Lake mungo is one of the most devastating examples of this while mimicking true haunting style, it establishes its interviewees as actual characters suffering from grief. Lake mungo is extremely unique in the way that the film is pieced together as a documentary. Lake mungo remains simple english wikipedia, the free. Is the movie lake mungo based on a true story answers. Strange things start happening after a girl is found drowned in a lake. On february 26, 1974, by now doing his phd, he was again at lake mungo when unusually torrential summer rains hit. For some reason, i thought that alice was already dead or something like that. Beginning with her death, anderson tracks alices story with documentary style. I was utterly enthralled in the first half of the film, the revelation that there might be something.
The style of filming and the subtle and extremely convincing performance that the actors gave was enough to have me checking imdb to make sure i was watching the correct movie. Apologies to samson and delilah, mary and max and balibo. At first i had trouble discerning whether it was based on a true story or not, but i found as the film progressed that this became less and less relevant to my viewing experience. Lake mungo really is a very simple film, it follows the palmer family as they deal with the loss of alice their daughtersister. Theres no big scares here, but rather a quiet, creepy tension that builds as the mystery deepens. But this film was one of the most haunting movies i have ever seen. He was clearly important enough for his passing to be marked with a ritual ceremony. It starts out slow and steady letting you in on the back story of the family and what has happened. A series of clues lead the family to lake mungo where alices secret past emerges.
Jul 29, 2011 the australian film lake mungo actually pulls off the mockdoc illusion with considerable success, never allowing the mask to slip. To prepare his leading lady, lupita nyongo, for us, peele assigned the actress a list of films to watch in order to create, as he told entertainment weekly, a shared language. Starring talia zucker, rosie traynor, david pledger, martin sharpe, steve jodrell, tamara donnellan. A family mourns the death of its 16yearold daughter, alice. Why lake mungo is the best ghost film youve never seen. Mar 20, 2010 the twists in the second half of the film, though motivated and logical, were too redolent of twin peaks for me, so much that it detracted from my experience of lake mungo. They are australias oldest human remains to be found, being 40,000 to 42,000 years old. No, eden lake is not based on a true story, it is based on a screenplay by james watkins. Mungo man finally returns home history smithsonian magazine. Few films convey this grieving process better than 2008 psychological horror lake mungo, a modern indie classic that somehow failed to get uk distribution upon release. The sites are located near lake mungo, in new south wales, australia, in the world heritagelisted willandra lakes region.
Lake mungo uses a documentary format to tell the story of a young girl named alice. The truth is something that a documentary purports to tell and more importantly, to show. Joel andersons 2008 lake mungo is a film which uses its medium to distance. Few films convey this grieving process better than 2008 psychological horror lake mungo. Pieces of skeletons have been found in this region. The problem is, lake mungo is worth so much more than that and i do feel that that marketing technique unfairly represents the film. Oct 23, 2019 lake mungo young alice drowns during a family vacation, and the familystricken with griefstart noticing weird things.
Directed and written by joel anderson, lake mungo handles the subject of grief and a familys hope for afterlife very well. Mungo man finally returns home history smithsonian. Lake mungo is a dry lake located in new south wales, australia. A movie that was part of the failed and, on my part at least, much missed, after dark horrorfest, lake mungo was a pleasant surprise, one that stuck with me well after the cameras. Upon discovering her secret double life, a series of clues lead them to lake mungo. A version appeared to play the european festival circuit at 87 minutes. The framing approach echoes that of a documentary, with a film crew supposedly interviewing family members, friends, and other acquaintances of a drowned 16yearold girl. Watch lake mungo 2008 full movie free online streaming. Starring talia zucker, rosie traynor, david pledger, martin sharpe and steve jodrell.
Sep 15, 2017 lake mungo is one of the most devastating examples of this while mimicking true haunting style, it establishes its interviewees as actual characters suffering from grief. The whole film is shot documentary style with interviews etc. This quote signifies lake mungo isnt just a conventional ghost story but just as much an. The family later find alices mobile phone, which she mysteriously buried during a camping trip with friends. Lake mungo 2008 is joel andersons debut film, which is surprising because it is a wellcrafted horror gem. Most of the movie is the interview with the family members. If someone were to cleverly incorporate this movie onto pbs program schedule, theres a very strong possibility that some. Joel andersons debut film, the suspensefilled fright fest called lake mungo for those unaware of australian geography, it is a real place and holds the key to the film s central mystery. Lake mungo is a feature film about grief and the harrowing 12 months that follow the accidental death of 16 year old alice palmer. This superbly constructed and executed film gets everything right, to the. Presented in a documentary format, lake mungo is one of the eeriest films to come out of australia and is sure to make you take a. Instead of presenting us with a group of teens blair witch or cloverfield. Lake mungo is a mystery, a thriller and a ghost story told in documentary form that illustrates how the dead can forever haunt the living. Lake mungo is a mystery, a thriller and a ghost story told in documentary form that.
The movie has a similar premise with paranormal activity 2007, and it also makes effective use of the mockumentary method if not better. Yet lake mungo is a quiet, understated little ghost story that packs one heck of a creepy wallop. Presented as a documentary about alices family, lake mungo is a chilling. Lake mungo is the story of the twelve months of unexplained paranormal activity following the accidental drowning death of teenager alice palmer written and directed by joel anderson, the film lake mungo is a mystery, a thriller and a ghost story weaved into a documentary style narrative that illustrates how the dead can forever haunt the living. In retrospect i feel like those haunting synethesisers of angelo badalamentis twin peaks theme should play over the very eerie opening credits. Lake mungo 2008 when found footage is done right, it can really get under your skin. It employs a mockumentary format using actors in place of interviewees to tell the story of a family trying to come to terms with the drowning death of their daughter and the potentially supernatural. Cinema is filled with ghost stories, some horrifying, some tragic. It is about 760 km due west of sydney and 90 km northeast of mildura. It seems a lot of people who watched joel andersons mockumentarystyle horror film lake mungo missed the terrifying truth that subtly underpins its apparent plot. May 29, 2015 it seems a lot of people who watched joel andersons mockumentarystyle horror film lake mungo missed the terrifying truth that subtly underpins its apparent plot. The movie, while it is highly unsettling, leaves me with a certain sadness. Its actually quite difficult to imagine that this isnt a true story. Lake mungo is a film that will stick with you long after the credits roll, and demand multiple viewings.
A movie that gets it right is 2008s lake mungo, an australian supernatural. There was a pristine new surface on the dunes, he recalls. Presented in a documentary format, lake mungo is one of the eeriest films to come out of australia and is sure to make you take a closer look at your photos from now on. Many important archaeological findings have been made at the lake, most significantly the discovery of the remains of mungo. Apr 01, 2011 lake mungo will have its first australian television screening on wednesday the 6th at 10pm on sbs one. Many important archaeological findings have been made at the lake, most significantly the discovery of the remains of mungo man, the oldest human remains found in australia,2 mungo lady, the. Lake mungo is a unique and heartwrenching ghost story posted on tuesday, october 1st, 2019 by chris evangelista welcome to 31 days of streaming horror. Lake mungo has long since dried and died, but alice drowns in a very real, though dammed, lake. Lake mungo is where a later revelation occurs, not the location of alices death, where she is picnicking with her family near their home in the victorian country town of ararat. Lake mungo is an australian film and was released on dvd earlier in that country at 84 minutes. If youre interested in ghosts and the unexplained, this is for you. Indeed, the final revelation at the end of lake mungo reveals that this has really been alices story the whole time, something even she never quite recognizes.
It chillingly employs a faux documentary and foundfootage format to tell the story of the palmer family, who are attempting to come to terms with the strange drowning death of. Beginning with her death, anderson tracks alices story with documentary style interviews of family, friends and colleagues. For obvious reasons, the film will be hard for most to digest, due in part to the pictures history channel aesthetic. Not only is the dead girl alice palmer laura palmer being the deceased subject of twin peaks but she was a young woman with a double life which was only revealed after her. Lake mungo is one of those movies that has you putting pieces together up until the very last frame and then some. Lake mungo is a unique and heartwrenching ghost story.
They are lake mungo 1 lm1, or mungo lady, lake mungo 2 lm2, and lake mungo 3 lm3, or mungo man. Lake mungo will keep you awake at night with its horrifying reality. The film chronicles the grief and heartache wrought by the disappearance of alice palmer, a sweet, likable girl next door who vanishes during a holiday with her friends near a mysterious location known as lake mungo. Another lake mungo thread questions, comments, spoilers. The australian film lake mungo actually pulls off the mockdoc illusion with considerable success, never allowing the mask to slip. Following the accidental drowning of 16yearold alice palmer, the grieving family become convinced that she might be haunting them. May 04, 2020 lake mungo 2008 is joel andersons debut film, which is surprising because it is a wellcrafted horror gem. When her body is recovered and a verdict of accidental death returned, her grieving family buries her. Lake mungo is significant to australia because of its discovery of mungo man and mungo lady. Lake mungo is a 2008 australian psychological horror film written and directed by joel anderson and starring talia zucker and martin sharpe.
Dec 28, 2016 basically lake mungo is a ghost story. Its here that the film becomes overwhelmed with an especially bittersweet strain of melancholy. May 20, 2009 lake mungo is the story of the twelve months of unexplained paranormal activity following the accidental drowning death of teenager alice palmer written and directed by joel anderson, the film lake mungo is a mystery, a thriller and a ghost story weaved into a documentary style narrative that illustrates how the dead can forever haunt the living. It is filmed in a documentary style, in which the familyfriendswork associates are interviewed by an unseen person, with pictures and video footage shown as well. As the family attempts to put the pieces of their shattered existence back together, a series of strange events begin to unfold. Mar 26, 2010 lake mungo is a film that takes an occasionally tired plot device the faux documentary and twists it on its head.
When i started lake mungo, i wasnt expecting to find anything that was able to quench my thirst for horror, and maybe thats why i ended up enjoying it so much. Watch lake mungo 2008 full movie free online streaming tubi. We do see some familys home video and still photos and they are pretty creepy. Be aware that the movie is mockumntary, so there is no jump scares and anything like that. What follows is a discussion about the making of this unique film. Lake mungo is a supernatural mystery and ghost story told as a. Recalled mainly through interviews, camera shots, and cell phone footage lake mungo tells the tragic story of sixteenyearold alice palmer, played by talia zucker, who drowned while swimming in the towns local dam. The lake is the central feature of mungo national park, and is one of seventeen lakes in the world heritage listed willandra lakes region. Lake mungo is a feature film about grief and the harrowing 12. These pieces have been attributed to over forty human skeletons.
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