Perhaps the best thing about Bone Lake is that there is so much more going on beyond what it delivers during its blood-soaked third act. Director Mercedes Bryce Morgan and screenwriter Joshua Friedlander craft a story that is first and foremost about relationships and the issues that arise due to a lack of communication. The couple at the center of the story is very much in love, but they have come to a point in their relationship when what’s unspoken can begin to affect their intimate dynamic. While the film does deliver on what horror fans will love before the credits begin to roll, Bone Lake succeeds primarily because it’s a fascinating character study, and the decisions that the characters make drive a narrative that isn’t too quick to show its hand. It’s also a brilliant exercise in tone as it effortlessly moves from a more grounded story to something far more campy and deliciously over the top. Making these elements blend isn’t easy, but Bone Lake does it and manages to stick the landing in the process.
Sage (Maddie Hasson) and Diego (Marco Pigossi) have chosen to partake in a romantic getaway at the secluded Bone Lake, which comes complete with a sprawling mansion designed for their intimate needs. They have been together for a few years and find themselves in a common position for couples at their stage. Sage has a stable job and has become the sole breadwinner, while Diego gave up teaching at a community college to focus on writing a novel. It’s clear that the two are in love, but concerns still plague the couple. Diego has worries that Sage doesn’t believe in his talents as a writer, and they are not addressing the elephant in the room that they have become sexually incompatible, likely due to the stress of Safe taking on more in the relationship. Despite this, Diego hopes to use the romantic excursion to propose to his longtime love.
Things take a turn when a more outwardly flamboyant couple enters the picture and insists that they have also booked the mansion on Bone Lake for a stay. Cin (Andra Nechita) and Will (Alex Roe) are the stereotypical specimens of an attractive couple who seem to get each other going with a single stare, which makes them quite the opposite of Sage and Diego. At first, it appears likely that one couple will have to vacate, but it’s decided that the two couples will stay together and make the most of it. It helps that Cin and Will are one hundred percent inviting and make Sage and Diego feel as if they have all been friends for more than a hot minute. It all seems like things will work out for the best until secrets between the couples begin to emerge, and that unspoken repression leads to potentially dangerous consequences.
The less you know about Bone Lake going in, the better. Given the title and the film’s trailer, one would not blame you that there would be some supernatural element tied to being at the lake that leads to the horror that transpires, but the film goes down a much more interesting path. At its core, Bone Lake dives into how easily people can be manipulated once it’s clear that cracks need to be stepped on to make them craters. It’s a fun cat-and-mouse game involving a more reserved couple and their more sexually liberated new friends. What’s clear is that Sage and Diego really need to talk about what’s lacking in their relationship, and the arrival of Cin and Will brings that to the surface in a fiendishly clever way.
What Friedlander does with his screenplay, which is aided by Morgan’s direction, is that the audience buys into the initial union of the two couples. Instincts would be for one of the couples to leave due to the overbooking fiasco, but Cin and Will are engaging enough to be a couple of strangers that you could vibe with, and Sage and Diego are established early on as a likable pair who wouldn’t make any waves. A similar move was made in Zach Cregger’s Barbarian, which saw an Airbnb overbooking turn into a completely different kind of nightmare. Once you’re sold on both couples being chill with the turn of events, your guard is let down, and the eventual surprises genuinely shock once they transpire.
Bone Lake won’t rewrite the handbook on intimacy and communication, but it still offers up enough to ponder that could spark a conversation. The power dynamics between men and women are touched on in a way that makes sense, and it’s easy to see how they would be exploited. Sage didn’t intend to be “the man” in the relationship, but she has lost some of her sexual desire for Diego because she’s now taking care of him in a sense. When someone more dominant and confident shows up in Will, it’s easy to see how curiosity could be sparked. In the case of Diego, he subconsciously knows that Sage has been slipping away sexually, which makes the seemingly innocent flirtations provided by Cin fascinating. As a social commentary on sexual repression and intimacy not being fulfilled, Bone Lake has more to say than might be suggested.
The movie is also darkly funny in all the right places. It’s a masterclass in balancing different tones, and it knows when to play things straight before diving into more campy waters. While there humor sprinkled throughout, this isn’t more true than in the film’s third act, which embraces its campy intentions fully without selling the overall narrative short. The film is smart enough to know when to play this hand, and it does it well.
Matching pitch with the direction and screenplay are four capable leads who are completely invested in their roles. Hasson and Pigossi feel like a long-term couple, and they imbue Sage and Diego with a believability that is essential for making their characters work. They sell their doubts but also sell the conviction that there is still love brewing between them. As their opposites, Nechita and Roe deliver on all fronts as Cin and Will, being equal parts likable while also suggesting maybe everything isn’t as it appears with them. The best thing about their performances is that they make the viewer question their openness to certain situations. All four leads go a long way to making much of Bone Lake work, and that’s in large part due to their understanding of the material.
It all culminates in a bonkers third act that is worth the buildup. Horror fans will be pleased by the bloodletting, and the explanation for everything going on actually makes a lot of sense. Had the film fumbled in the third act, Bone Lake would’ve just been a tease, but by the end of its run, it’s a wholly arousing endeavor that leaves the audience completely satisfied.
Bone Lake is now playing in select theaters.
Had the film fumbled in the third act, Bone Lake would've just been a tease, but by the end of its run, it's a wholly arousing endeavor that leaves the audience completely satisfied.
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Hello! My name is Gaius Bolling: movie, TV, and pop culture junkie! The industry has been in my veins since I was a kid and I have carried that on through adulthood. I attended Los Angeles Film Academy and participated in their screenwriting and editing program. From there, I have learned to hone my skills in the world of entertainment journalism. Some of my favorite genres include horror, action, and drama and I hope to share my love of all of this with you.
