Bone Lake

Bone Lake is the kind of "horror-thriller" that thinks it's clever because it borrows ideas from clever films. You'll immediately recognize familiar setups from Barbarian (double-booked rental and they decide to stay with the unfamiliar party) and The One I Love (couples confronting relationship woes and get a lake house as therapy only to start not trusting each other), and many others, but without the originality, tension, or emotional payoff that made those films memorable.

Despite a decent setting and a momentary uptick in energy around the hour mark, the film is weighed down by a weak script, flat performances, and a complete lack of suspense or scares. It feels like a patchwork of better movies with the edges left rough and the soul missing.

I wouldn't recommend it unless you need background noise or a reminder of how important good writing is to genre filmmaking.

"Bone Lake" follows a troubled couple, Sage and Diego, who rent a sprawling lakeside estate for the weekend. They are soon met by the outgoing Will and Cin, who also booked the house through an apparently double-booking error. Rather than give up the house, the couples agree to share it for the weekend, only for inevitable mind games and mayhem to ensue.

After reading some divisive feedback, I went into "Bone Lake" with very low expectations, which may have worked to the film's advantage in terms of the entertainment value I found here. While it is a flawed film, I was pleasantly surprised by it. It is ridiculous in a number of ways and requires a fair suspension of disbelief, but it is a slick-looking and fairly fun flick that leans much more into thriller territory than it does outright horror.

An isolated estate? Check. Two couples, both strangers in a strange place? Check. An apparent history of a serial killer who dumps bodies in the lake? Check. At first glance, the film has the aura of something like a "Friday the 13th" sequel, but it plays much more like a semi-sexual psychothriller from the early 2000s. This might bore audiences expecting an all-out slasher flick, and the film does admittedly sag a bit in the middle as it revels in relationship drama and mind games that seem to have no tangible purpose. However, things really pick up in the last act, and this is where most of the real fun begins.

The performances are actually quite good, with Maddie Hasson and Andra Nechita specifically offering the most believable portrayals here. The photography and editing are uniformly stylish, and the pacing is overall nicely executed, despite the film's somewhat long-in-the-tooth midsection.

All in all, I was pleasantly surprised by this film. If you are expecting something that takes itself very seriously, you will not find that here. "Bone Lake" functions best as a throwback to early aughts thrillers with a slight edge of millennial sexual politics and relationship woes. "Funny Games" it is not, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. 7/10.

Clever marketing had me thinking this was gonna be something it wasn't. I don't mind twists if it's set up with decent characters and a good story line.

The erotic scenes threw me off and lots of sexual themes for a movie that's supposed to be horror. Two couples end up in a mansion both have rented and decide to stay. That's the only set up I'm giving away. What I enjoyed were the quirky characters we are introduced too as well as why they call it bone lake in the first place.

There's some terror, gore, unexpected sexiness with skin shown, and a gruesome scene which you'll have to see for yourself. Above average little indie horror movie about human relationships--at least I think that's what they're trying to tell us. Could also be a movie you can wait for streaming too.

I'm still confused what was going on in this movie. I saw this as an scream unseen so I didn't know what I was going to watch. It wasn't scary at all just oddly disturbing and of course opening scene where a guy gets an arrow through his scrotum .. So that was unnecessary. Everyone was laughing during this film so I guess it was somewhat amusing . So if you want to laugh at a ridiculous movie go ahead and see it . There was some crazy sex scenes and death scenes so if that's what you are into , this may be for you. I just feel like it may have been done before but with extra crazy . There is kinda of twist I didn't see coming but it wasn't a good twist . Anyway , I won't watch again , I feel like I wasted my time for the most part.

I wasnt going to leave a review because lt was S0 BAD.... But l notice big names and people promiting to go see lt 🤣 cIearly, you are doing this movie a huge favor by giving lt a good review...this ls a movie you find at goodwiII or for free at a yardsale....this ls a movie that ls bound to fIop...this ls a movie that you do not want to see twice 🤣 from the acting, to the plot, to the ending...lts just so bad...definitely made within 2 weeks....l warn you, lf you go see lt, you wiII realize just how awfuI lt ls...the opening was cool, then the rest of the fiIm has nothing eIse to offer...this was a step beIow P*RN0.