THE STORY – Diego and Sage’s romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate gets upended when they’re forced to share a mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. Their dream getaway soon spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation as terrifying secrets come to light, triggering a bloody battle for survival.
THE CAST – Maddie Hasson, Alex Roe, Andra Nechita & Marco Pigossi
THE TEAM – Mercedes Bryce Morgan (Director) & Joshua Friedlander (Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 94 Minutes
They say that nothing tries a couple’s bond like being faced with an unexpected speed bump on the highway of life. Strife, stress, and how the difficult predicament is resolved can either strengthen a pair or drive them apart forever. “Bone Lake,” the new thriller from Mercedes Bryce Morgan – an exciting new voice in genre filmmaking – is essentially the ultimate test of romantic resiliency. The main couple at its center are pushed to the limits of what can be expected of humans in any situation, let alone one that makes them doubt how fit they are to be together. And much like what happens to the two lovers at its center, “Bone Lake” puts its audience through the ringer. It’s an envelope-pushing film in terms of the gore, violence, and sexual content, yes, but what will really make viewers squirm is how it captures a very specific feeling of discomfort, one that seeps off the screen and straight into the veins of those watching. It’s exhausting, for better and worse, but the film is inarguably effective in terms of evoking a visceral reaction – something that most films can only dream of.
“Bone Lake” gets its name from the remote body of water in Georgia where the film takes place, so nicknamed because skeletons of unknown origin were once discovered there. A gorgeous house sits on this ominous waterhole, which has been turned into an Airbnb-type rentable vacation property. A young, hot couple – Sage (Maddie Hasson) and Diego (Marco Pigossi) – check into the villa for a romantic weekend away. What looks to be a fun, sexy time (Diego quickly declares the vacation to be “clothing optional”) is abruptly interrupted by the arrival of a second young, hot couple – Cin (Andra Nechita) and Will (Alex Roe). They find themselves in a real “Barbarian”-type situation, with the rental property somehow double-booked by both pairs. This understandably shakes Diego and Sage, although they’re eventually convinced by Will and Cin to stay with them. After all, the four of them are practically guaranteed a refund.
As might be expected given Will and Cin’s rambunctious, gregarious nature, it’s not long before they both make their respective attraction to Sage and Diego known. As such, the film tiptoes around being able to add “erotic” to prefix its obvious “thriller” genre distinction, although it’s decidedly light on actual titillation (is “softcore erotic thriller” a thing?). Instead, like a drawn-out DM flirtation, the film becomes just as much, if not more, about the build-up before crossing the threshold from acquaintance to something much more intimate than the actual pay-off itself. It’s an exciting approach from Morgan, who revels in the inherent discomfort of such inference and assumption-based conversations. The way the film highlights the awkwardness of such charged interactions leads to some truly cringeworthy moments, in the best possible way. Whether that’s a selling point or a definite turn-off will depend on the individual viewer, but it can’t be denied that Morgan’s tonal focus remains steadfast throughout her film.
In fact, “Bone Lake” starts with an opening sequence that’s intentionally off-putting and shocking, in what’s very clearly a way to let the audience know that they’re about to watch a film that isn’t afraid to “go there.” Morgan smartly hits the audience hard with startling imagery right at the top as if to indicate that any moment in the film has the potential for aggressive, unrestrained human action. As such, the stakes of every scene feel inherently high.
Morgan further establishes her presence as a filmmaker in the incredibly showy – yet always captivating – way in which she shoots the film. Her camera moves in totally surprising ways. It’s far from invisible, natural work, further elevating the chaotic feeling of a weekend gone awry. The camera twists, spins, and takes on unexpected perspectives to continually make the audience feel as unsteady as Sage and Diego. Morgan also indulges in cheeky match cuts and edits that make it feel as if she’s toying with the audience just as much as Will and Cin do with their newfound friends.
Joshua Friedlander’s screenplay isn’t quite at the same level as Morgan’s direction, serving up repetitive scenes that the director works hard to distinguish via her filmmaking. It’s a film filled with moments that would easily be solved if the exhaustingly typical straight couple at its center simply talked honestly with each other, which can get tiring for viewers, even if it’s truthful. But such truths aren’t always the best cinematic option, and aside from some surprises in the film’s third act, the constant conversations quickly fall into a humdrum rhythm, like a once lively married couple who’ve lost their spark.
But luckily, all four members of the will-they-won’t-they polycule are brought to life by excellent performances. Nechita and Roe make for a compellingly wacky couple; they behave in an unpredictable manner that remains charming nonetheless. The film acknowledges that the audience, like Sage and Diego, will be easily swayed by their unquestionable attractiveness; they exploit their “pretty privilege” to lure people in, even when their behavior suggests it’s best to steer clear of them. As such, the movie is practically a cautionary tale about letting attraction override logic. Pigossi plays the disheartened writer Diego in a believably stressed-out way, and he’s so immediately relatable that he manages to stay sympathetic even when his judgments and decisions feel exasperatingly short-sighted. And as Sage, the film’s central figure, Maddie Hasson is simply fantastic. She’s headstrong and assured, but still brittle and vulnerable. Hasson manages to find humanity in each one of Sage’s strengths and weaknesses, turning her into a truly three-dimensional figure. She’s natural without being uncinematically “real.”
Like an underwhelming vacation, “Bone Lake” has its equal share of pluses and minuses. For every frustrating decision by the screenplay, director Mercedes Bryce Morgan makes just as many ingenious filmmaking choices. But hey, even a half-baked thriller can still find ways to thrill (although it gets the heart racing from uncomfortable moments more than anything). “Bone Lake” will leave an impression on viewers long after they’ve dried off from swimming in its grim waters.
