Bone Lake

by Mike McGranaghan

Bone Lake opens with a scene that shows a man getting an arrow shot through his scrotum – in close-up, no less. It’s a slightly misleading intro, given that there’s no additional violence for well over an hour. The movie is far more interesting than that obvious shock tactic, too. Writer Joshua Friedlander and director Mercedes Bryce Morgan have concocted a tale that’s kind of like Funny Games-meets-Fifty Shades of Grey. It’s impressive how horny and deranged this movie is.

Longtime couple Sage (Maddie Hasson) and Diego (Marco Pigossi) have rented a gorgeous estate in the middle of nowhere for a romantic weekend, where he plans to propose. (As required by International Cinema Law, he opens up the box so the audience can see the ring, even though he knows it’s already in there.) Their plans are derailed when another couple, Will (Alex Roe) and Cin (Andra Nechita), show up, having also rented the place. After some back and forth, the couples tentatively agree to share. The situation quickly goes south, as Will and Cin prove to be sexually provocative, to say the least. Their actions severely test the strength of the Sage/Diego relationship.

I can’t go any further than that without completely spoiling Bone Lake. Despite the opening arrow gag, this is largely a film where the horror comes from the way people treat and manipulate each other. Sure, there are those three mysterious padlocked doors in the estate, but they’re here to provide new psychological torments for the characters. An old rumor about a serial killer who dumped the bodies of his victims in the lake, only to have their bones wash to shore, is the biggest hint that a more physical form of terror might manifest itself sooner or later.

There’s a ton of sexual content in the story. People have sex. They talk constantly about sex. A scene of female masturbation figures prominently into the mystery. Characters attempt to seduce other characters with whom they are not romantically involved. The carnal proceedings eventually create a scenario where certain players must fight for their lives. This is where the violence returns. Although tinged with dark humor, the deaths that occur during the finale are wicked enough to impress Terrifier’s Art the Clown. In both its sex-fueled story and its carnage, Bone Lake is the kind of picture that makes you say, with great delight, “I can’t believe they went there!”

The actors allow the risqué material to really lift off. Hasson and Pigossi perfectly play their roles straight, conveying the increasing bewilderment Sage and Diego feel. Coe and Nechita pitch theirs – as, respectively, a schemer and a seductress – just a bit higher to provide the story with its vital WTF-ness. Watching interactions between them all is fun because something twisted always arises.

The final shot of Bone Lake is a little odd, as it appears to be an homage to a very famous non-horror classic. Perhaps no parting image could properly do justice to the madness of the preceding ninety minutes. It barely matters. This is an awesomely entertaining picture that continually ups the ante on edginess.

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