Five-Legged Iguana

A Rundown of the 13 Best Horror Movies I’ve Seen in the Past Year
[8 of 13]
LAKE MUNGO (February 2009)


In the wake of [REC], the found footage, shakycam sub-genre finally found firm footing in horror cinema, achieving the sort of credentials Hollywood producers pay close attention to. Naturally though, given the flood of these low budget, potentially big box office earners that came pouring in (including the [REC] English-language remake Quarantine), some intrepid filmmakers chose to toy with the format, producing works that would stand out from the crowd.
Written and directed by Joel Anderson, Lake Mungo is one such title.
Though there is “amateur” footage in here (including cell phone video clips), these are contained within a structure that emulates those true-to-life documentaries that you can sometimes catch on cable, chronicling supernatural cases like possessions or haunted houses.

All very matter-of-fact and low key in its approach, Lake Mungo is an exquisite slow burn that nonetheless leaves a chillingly unsettling imprint on its audience. It’s all the more laudable an achievement due to the stripped-down, yet very skilled manner in which the film is put together.
Additionally, Lake Mungo has been optioned for the Hollywood remake treatment, though the last I heard, the redux would forego the faux doc approach and present the tale as a straight-forward narrative. Trust me, you should do yourself the favour of seeing Anderson’s original first.

(Lake Mungo OS courtesy of impawards.com.)