Lake Mungo

Faux documentaries were a staple of horror movies even before the arrival of The Blair Witch Project in 1999, but many more have appeared since that low-budget film became a surprising smash hit. This Australian film purports to record the case of a family haunted by the spirit of teenage daughter Alice Palmer (Talia Zucker), who drowned in a lake outside their small hometown. Combining supposed news footage with interviews of Alice's parents, Russell and June (David Pledger and Rosie Traynor), as well as her younger brother, Mathew (Martin Sharpe), Lake Mungo sketches the girl's last days. But when video shot after Alice's death reveals a strange figure resembling the girl in the background, the Palmers look to a psychic (Steve Jodrell), who offers to help them sort out the mystery. Up to this point, writer-director Joel Anderson's Lake Mungo resembles a tabloid-like TV program, but the script then takes several twists, moving the tale in unexpected directions that occasionally strain credulity yet ultimately deliver a moderately creepy ghost story. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)