Get Carried Away with Twisted Psychosexual Mind Games in Bone Lake (FANTASTIC)
Title: Bone Lake
First Non-Festival Release: TBD
Director: Mercedes Bryce Morgan
Writer: Joshua Friedlander
Runtime: 94 Minutes
Starring: Maddie Hasson, Alex Roe, Andra Nechita, Marco Pigossi
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
This film’s review was written after its screening at the Fantastic Film Festival in 2024.
Relationships are tested every day, straining or strengthening under the pressure of life. These stressors can come in the form of finances, work, politics, family troubles, and even just drifting compatibility. Oftentimes, though, it can come in the form of temptation from other people.
On a road trip, before Sage (Maddie Hasson) starts her new job and Diego (Marco Pigossi) takes a break from work to focus full time on writing his erotic thriller novel, the couple takes a stop at a romantic airbnb. Not long after, the duo realizes the place has been double booked when another young couple, Will (Alex Roe) and Cin (Andra Nechita), arrive to the property. As the weekend progresses, the two couples fall into a series of dangerous games designed to test their relationships. Losing means more than just each other’s commitment to spend forever together, but their lives.
A twisted psychosexual mindfuck, Bone Lake delights with its commentary on the fragility of relationships.
Exploring relationship problems and the ways in which couples work together or against each other, Bone Lake offers its own ideas on what builds strong ties. Starting slow, the two couples are gradually introduced, with Sage and Diego’s insecurities and fears deliberately splayed out over the course of the weekend. Will and Cin appear to be the perfect couple, but something is clearly wrong with them even if all they can share are some half-hearted relationship woes to the clearly struggling duo. Are they really dealing with their own bout of petty problems or is something more sinister lurking beneath the couple’s bubbly surface.
The “off” dynamic from Will and Cin serves as the main source of suspense in the film, as both Sage and Diego and the audience work to decipher the point of their games. What starts as reasonable faux pas overlook the couple’s systematic and pointed torture of Sage and Diego. Probing insecurities and uncovered unhealed wounds, the duo works ferociously to target weakness. Understandably, their tactics are met with suspicion but only after they have dug their claws in further to sow the seeds of doubt between Sage and Diego. Their tactics serve as a focal point for the larger mystery of why the couple engages in this power play in the first place.
Bone Lake comes alive thanks to the strong performances from the central cast. Maddie Hasson and Marco Pigossi have great chemistry, making their coupling all the more convincing in their love and commitment. While the strains on their relationship show, it’s evident that the duo will sacrifice what is needed for the other. On the other hand, Alex Roe and Andra Nechita delight with their mischievous antics. Both actors play coy with their motivations making increasing slights against the other couple feel somehow innocuous. It’s clear the duo are having fun playing the unhinged couple, making the story come to life when their secrets are revealed.
Its final act is where Bone Lake truly gets to let loose and surprise audiences. Fully sinking its teeth into its premise, Bone Lake descends into chaos as the two couples trade their mind games for more physical sparring. Taking the humor to new heights while introducing some delectable moments of gore, Bone Lake keeps the pace to make its final moments as tense and wild as the buildup.
Mercedes Bryce Morgan is now two for two in creating excellent psychosexual horror films that explore the relationships we have with each other (still waiting on her debut Fixation to get a wide release though]. Bone Lake is equal parts silly and exciting, allowing the zaniness of the premise to catch audiences off guard with its infectious sense of humor and surprisingly gory action pieces. The premise is unique enough to differentiate it from other Airbnb horror efforts and allows its stars to shine all the same. Much like its double entendre title suggests, Bone Lake is the sexy, twisted horror film that will satisfy those in the mood for something salacious.
Overall Score? 8/10
