Day 26

Lake Bodom (2016)

Directed by Taneli Mustonen

When a group of teenagers head out to the site of a series of infamous murders, they each have their own mysterious agenda. Once they all arrive, a series of twists happen, leaving the fate of these teenagers as unclear as the fog covering the lake they camped out by. Speaking of that fog, Lake Bodom is incredibly atmospheric! That magnificent fog works wonders for building a spooky atmosphere that is just perfect for this time of year, and the cinematography feels effortlessly beautiful. The rest of the film doesn’t quite live up to the atmosphere but the characters are fine and the kills are effective if a bit uninspired. Where Lake Bodom starts to lose itself is when the twists start.

I don’t want to go into detail on these twists because I hate spoilers, so I’ll just say that there are a couple twists and some are better than others. The middle of the film is kind of dragged down by a weak twist that plays into a lot of unfortunate stereotypes, but the third act brings some life back to the story. The ending isn’t bad and there is a surprising amount of good dark humor in Lake Bodom, so the movie is kind of a mixed bag. Lake Bodom has some problems but overall it’s a stylish and atmospheric slasher film with some interesting concepts, give it a shot if that sounds like your thing! Recommended.