Bone Lake is one of those movies that sounds stupid as hell when you try explaining it to somebody but then you actually sit down and watch it and realize this thing works way better than it should, a couple goes on vacation to this really nice Airbnb and another couple shows up because of a double booking situation and they all decide to share the mansion instead of one group leaving and things get weird real fast like really weird. Mercedes Bryce Morgan directed this thing and she knows how to handle these kind of story where people are trying to keep up appearances even when everything around them is going to shit, the cast is solid too with Alex Roe and Maddie Hasson plus Marco Pigossi and Andra Nechita and everyone did there thing and made there characters feel real even when the situation gets absolutely crazy and honestly its the script that sometimes lags although the actors were on kill for the most time. This movie mixes thriller and horror in a way that feels a perfect mix, it touches on relationships and how complicated things are today without being preachy or annoying about it, this aspect is just good writing that makes sense for the world we live in right now, the third part is where this thing really takes off and the gore comes in heavy and the tension just explodes and you start grabbing your chair arm hard as they start to chase each other, its crazy. I didnt know what to expect and came out thinking this might be one of the best movies this year probably a top 10, sitting somewhere around an 7 or 8 for me and the ending alone makes it worth watching, if you like these kind of keeping up appearances type story where strangers show up and everyone is trying not to look bad or overreact then this one nails it.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26783625/
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The whole setup is pretty simple when you think about it, Sage and Diego are this couple who arrive at this beautiful lake house mansion type place for a weekend getaway and you can tell right away they got some issues going on between them. Diego quit his teaching job to write a book full time witch is never a good idea unless you already got published and Sage had to leave her freelance writing to take an editor position just to pay the bills and keep things afloat, so there is already some tension there about money and career choices and you can feel it even when they are trying to have a good time. Then this other couple shows up, Will and Cin, and they claim they also booked the place for the same weekend and instead of one couple leaving like normal people would do they all decide to be adults about it and just share the damn place because its huge and has enough room for everyone. The thing is Will and Cin seem a little too friendly right from the start, like they are trying way to hard to make everyone comfortable and suggesting they all hang out and party together and play games, and you start getting this feeling that something is not right with these two but you cannot quite put your finger on what it is yet, the funny part is that they also gamble many times to push Sage and Diego away like when Will tells Diego to just "Rock, Papers, Scissors" the house and who ever wins stays, thats a free pass for them without even knowing, there are many of this during the movie.
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Slowly but surely I saw how the movie builds up the awkwardness and discomfort between these four people, like Will and Cin keep doing these little things that cross boundaries and make Diego and Sage uncomfortable but not enough to make them leave or cause a scene. Will ends up stealing Diegos grandmothers ring and proposing to Cin with it right in front of Diego and Diego just lets it happen instead of calling him out on it witch seems insane when you think about it but the movie does a good job of showing how people will put up with crazy shit just to avoid conflict or looking rude, if Diego had stood up it would be the end of the game still Will went for it on purpose, Will and Cin are just adrenaline junkies. Then you got Cin trying to lure Diego into her; but not in a bad way yet, and telling him she can get his book to some famous author she knows and Will is doing the same thing with Sage and trying to get in her head about there relationship problems and its all part of this game they are playing to mess with this couple and see how far they can push them before they break, they hole concept is to find out if they really love each other but mostly they just looking for the perfect couple that doesnt exist. The whole middle part of the movie is just watching these two couples interact and I was trying to figure out what the hell is actually going on, like are Will and Cin just swingers who want to have some fun or is there something darker happening here and the movie keeps you guessing for a while witch I really liked, because at first you had no prove they were the one from the first scene chasing a couple through the woods and eventually killing them to recreate a paint scene so you literally think its all mistake they bump into each other.
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Then shit hits the fan in the third part of the movie when Diego and Sage discover that Will and Cin actually own the house and have been doing this to other couples for a while now, by the way Sage is the one who discover all this and was so sweet that she did trust Diego after Will tried to get on her head, they find this whole murder headquarters type room with newspaper clippings about missing couples and files on all the people they have killed before and you realize these two are straight up serial killers who get off on playing these sick games with people. The twist is that Will and Sin are actually brother and sister witch I saw coming from a mile away but it still works because the movie does not try to make it seem like some huge shocking reveal, they have this whole thing where they grew up really close and killed there parents when they found out about there relationship and now they just do this for fun because they think other peoples relationships are fake and full of lies. Once the truth comes out the movie turns into a full on survival horror situation and the violence gets brutal real quick and I love this because even when the cat is out of the bag is there when the movie decides to go full throttle with violence, we are talking chainsaws and axes and people getting there faces cut off and blood everywhere and its the kind of stuff that makes you go oh damn they really went there. The final fight between these two couples is intense as hell and even though Diego and Sage seemed pretty weak and passive for most of the movie they end up fighting back hard and taking these psychos down in some really satisfying ending.
I dont want to throw dirt on the movie saying that the ending is what save this movie although the ending is the cherry on top, because after all the craziness and violence Diego and Sage end up in the boat covered in blood and he proposes to her with his grandmothers ring that he got back and she says yes and they are just laughing about the whole situation like they just survived something that brought them closer together, the craziest part is that he actually cut off Cin fingers and took the ring from her, its hilarious. Its dark as hell but it works because the movie has been building to this moment the whole time, showing how this couple who could not communicate and had all these problems ended up having to fight for there lives together was probably the moral aspect or message of the movie, even when you are going through hell things can turn better??!! at least thats what I got from it. Mercedes Bryce Morgan knows how to direct a movie that feels trashy and fun without being dumb about it, she gives you characters who feel real even when they are doing stupid things and she builds tension in a way that keeps you locked in even during the slower parts, and when the violence comes it feels earned and not just thrown in there for shock value. The whole cast does a great job making you care about what happens and the way the movie looks is gorgeous with this really nice shots outdoors that makes everything feel sweaty and intense and dangerous. I would give this thing an 7 out of 10 easy, its not perfect, it was sold as a Sex and Violence movie but it honestly lacks the sex part, its more like erotic and just that, I know some people might think the middle drags a little bit but I think it builds the tension just right and the payoff at the end makes it all worth it.
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