The Darker The Lake

The Darker the Lake (Yet) Another Film Distribution Company and 101 Films

The small Austrian mountain town of Sankt Michael im Lungau (St. Michael) is rocked by a death in suspicious circumstances that eerily mirrors another, thirty-five years before.

Director and co-writer Woo Lok Kwan’s low key shooting style in the picturesque town masks the disturbing events of 1987, which saw a series of grisly deaths of young people, all of whom had played a mysterious board game called ‘Painkiller’, involving a chess board, cards, intonations and candle magic. Meeting in an abandoned barn, our young protagonists are initially up for a bit of spooky fun, but the game turns sour when their questions lead to mysterious black smoke appearing from nowhere, and the atmosphere turning violent. Young Lea (Gina Stiebitz) is clearly uneasy about the game, and proves to be its only survivor, but at great cost; many years of therapy in a mental hospital and being struck blind.

We meet Lea (Veronica Ferres) in the present day, where she lives in a wooden rustic house, straight off a skiing holiday postcard. Her daughter Tamara (Elyse Levesque) is an icily efficient Police detective, partnered somewhat reluctantly with moody, secretive Lukas (Vladimir Burlakov) to investigate the murders that have seemingly recommenced. Lukas has a VHS tape he found on the dark web, which features the young Lea giving evidence about those far off events, and it understandably puts Tamara on edge. So far, so standard urban legend horror.

Shuttling between the present day and thirty-five years before, the story trundles along well enough, introducing previous victims of ‘Painkiller’ and letting us in on the further indignities young Lea faced when she was obsessed with and trapped by the game. We learn that its hold over players is undimmed by time, and we meet a young Oriental author who has his own theories about it’s supposed supernatural power.

‘The Darker the Lake’ has plenty of atmosphere, it’s easy on the eye, yet the average horror fan will be left wanting something more than just a light touch vengeful spirit caper in a pretty Alpine town. 

'The Darker The Lake' is a digital only presentation.

Scenester

18/3/22

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4okrAZCB7k&feature=youtu.be

Buy & Watch: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Darker-Lake-Elyse-Levesque/dp/B09TKRJVVW