You need to watch the found footage classic, Lake Mungo

Found films are hard to pull off. For every classic like The Blair Witch Project or DetailThere are 100 movies like this slender and Megan is missing Which is, at best, forgettable, and at worst, an insult to the very concept of cinema. My personal favorite, though, is… Lake Mungoa slow-burn documentary with found footage elements that manages to be both chilling and emotionally wrenching. Oh, and it’s very concise at under an hour and a half.

Lake Mungo It is, first and foremost, one of the most compelling documentaries ever made. If you told someone that this was a legitimate documentary about a supposed stalking story, they would probably believe you. The style is precise, the performance is perfect, and it never oversteps its bounds. Other horror films in this style eventually go further, resorting to bombast, such as the BBC films Ghostwatch (It’s also excellent). but Lake Mungo It remains understated, even when it shows purported footage of a ghost.

Director and writer Joel Anderson has not directed a feature film since. Although he has found work in the film industry recently, including in 2023 Late night with the devilAfter an absence of more than 10 years.

The story follows the Palmer family as they suffer the loss of 16-year-old Alice Palmer, who drowned while swimming in the lake. Mother June wanders her neighborhood late at night, unable to sleep, father Russell buries himself in work, and brother Matthew immerses himself in his art. As you might expect from this type of horror film, the family begins to experience strange things – noises, mysterious bruises, and even a full-on encounter with a ghost.

From here, the film takes many twists and turns that elevate it above the level of typical “pots and pans” horror, which I will avoid spoiling. But its disturbing, haunting passages and emotional interviews with family get under your skin. There are no jump scares, no gore, just expert tension building that eventually builds to a terrifying conclusion. The image at the film’s climax is one of the most frightening cinematic frames of all time.

The choice of Palmer as the last name here seems like an intentional nod to him Twin PeaksWhich also deals with the death of a young girl in a small town with secrets. Along the way, you discover more about Alice and the life she lived. She struggled to be seen for who she really was, in life and death. As the family finally finds closure and decides to move on, the film reveals its final details.

Because the film spends its limited running time getting you invested in the characters and building up the backstory, the ending is a tad awkward. If you want a horror movie with an emotional impact, this is it. It’s definitely a frustrating flick, but one you’ll want to rewatch immediately.