I've seen so many fake footage films that they're blurred together in my mind. But one I'll always remember is Lake Mungo, the Australian sleeper from 2008 - still criminally underrated. This is one of those movies Jocke have nagged on me to watch, and I finally gave it a spin (after ordering it cheap from play.com of course). I would say that the traditionally "found footage" concept it's easier to make a movie of, Lake Mungo is more correctly a fake documentary. Most of the films in this sub-genre seems to be non-horror films, with a few exceptions - for example the semi-brilliant The Last Broadcast who ends in being one of the worst ever. If they just didn't fuck the shit up with a twist so retarded even I could have done it better.
Thank Satan Lake Mungo saves the day and we finally have a PERFECT fake horror documentary with so many intelligent and awesome twists I still can't comprehend it. The set up is simple but brilliant: teenage daughter Alice drowns in a dam one day and after a couple of days her body is found, identified and buried. A typical tragedy. Soon visions of her starts to haunt the family - mother, father and son, but everything is not what it seems and when you just think the answer is written on your nose - it's not. Brilliant.
What makes Lake Mungo so good is how it goes all the way in really making a very convicing documentary. There's old news footage, photos, crappy video recordings, cell phone material, new interviews with the family - even a couple of reenactments. But most of all, the actors are SO fucking good. Me, as a very experienced fan of genre cinema and an actor and sometimes filmmaker myself, might have been fooled under certain circumstances. This is one of those productions that easily would fool a TV-audience.
What's even more important is that it's genuinely scary. It's not often it happens, but during this movie the hair on my arms stood up. And this was in the middle of a sunny fucking day with fucking bird fucking tweeting outside my damn balcony. You can hear kids playing down in the park and my mother called in the middle of the movie telling me that she and her husband just bought a trip to Turkey.
All this bliss... and still it scared me.
I'm pretty sure it won't happen again in a good while. So what to do until then? I have no idea. Continue my search for good fake footage films I guess, but after this everything else must fail.
Like all great movies the drama is faboulous to. We care and we're interested in the family, we understand the motives of characters - and when we don't understand the reason, why suffer with them anyone. This is top notch filmmaking. So why the hell, director Joel Anderson, haven't you done a movie since 2008?
why? Why?? WHY???
Let me know if you read this. Please.
And you others, go directly and buy this movie. No, not later on pay day. NOW. Dammit.
"I've seen so many fake footage films that they're blurred together in my mind. But one I'll always remember is Lake Mungo, the Australian sleeper from 2008 - still criminally underrated. This is one of those movies Jocke have nagged on me to watch, and I finally gave it a spin (after ordering it cheap from play.com of course)."
FINALLY!
Took you some time, huh...?
I´m glad you saw this and Maléfique(2002) earlier, two very underrated films.
"I would say that the traditionally "found footage" concept it's easier to make a movie of, Lake Mungo is more correctly a fake documentary."
Yeah , feels more like mockumentary, with interviews, etc.
"Most of the films in this sub-genre seems to be non-horror films, with a few exceptions - for example the semi-brilliant The Last Broadcast who ends in being one of the worst ever."
I haven´t seen that one yet, but I hope you will review films, like, Bob Roberts(1992), Interview with the Assassin(2002), Death of a President(2006)etc, I think you would like them.
"What makes Lake Mungo so good is how it goes all the way in really making a very convicing documentary. There's old news footage, photos, crappy video recordings, cell phone material, new interviews with the family - even a couple of reenactments. But most of all, the actors are SO fucking good."
Yeah, what surprised me was how good it all blends together.
"I'm pretty sure it won't happen again in a good while. So what to do until then? I have no idea. Continue my search for good fake footage films I guess, but after this everything else must fail."
Maybe not......but if films like Lake Mungo(2008) exists....then there must be others.
Keep looking.
"This is top notch filmmaking. So why the hell, director Joel Anderson, haven't you done a movie since 2008?
why? Why?? WHY???
Let me know if you read this. Please."
Odd isn´t it....?
Must be money.......or could it be drugs, mental problems...?
I hope not, I think we maybe missing a very interesting voice in film......
"And you others, go directly and buy this movie. No, not later on pay day. NOW. Dammit."
Well....I already have copy........but a nice special edition version would be welcomed.
Great review, do seek up Privilege (1967), it might help your abstinence.
Posted by: Megatron | June 02, 2013 at 16:39
excellent movie. This one deserves all the write ups it can get. Good one Fred.
Posted by: gk | June 03, 2013 at 15:47
I. TOLD. YOU. SO. ;D
Posted by: Jocke A | June 11, 2013 at 15:13