Erotic thrillers are utilized to be praiseworthy. They had their Golden Age in the ‘80s but declined in the mid-90s after the genre was parodied in 1993’s Fatal Instinct. In the 2000s, there were fewer notable films in the genre due to the success of direct-to-video films, the internet, and its easy-access pornography. The genre has recently seen a comeback with The Voyeurs, Deep Water, and Sanctuary. Now, with her knowing sense of humor and feminine perspective, Morgan brings us Bone Lake, adding it to the list of films from the genre that could use more attention.
Happy couple Diego (Marco Pigossi) and Sage (Maddie Hasson) spend some quality time together by renting a luxurious Airbnb. Most couples don’t want to admit it, but Sage is clearly the breadwinner while Diego, a mediocre writer, quits his teaching job to carve out time for his erotic novel. Unfortunately, their sex life suffers. Sage feels forced into faking orgasms every time they have sex. Everything changes when they arrive at the house and are surprised to find out that it has been double booked with sexually liberated Will (Alex Roe) and Cin (Andra Nechita) walking in through the front door. Instead of looking for alternatives, the two couples decide to share the house. The growing suspicion that Diego and Sage harbor around Will and Cin starts to feel justified as Will and Cin begin to plant seeds of doubt in Diego and Sage’s relationship.
Morgan establishes the tone right away by opening the film with a tableau of two nude corpses before cutting to an elongating title card that, set to The Exploited’s “Sex and Violence”, cheekily calls to mind a slowly hardening penis. It’s this sly sense of humor that makes the film work as well as it does. Some of it can be a bit on the nose, but Friedlander’s whip-smart script works overtime to prove there’s more bubbling under the surface than you’d expect. Call it campy if you must, but Bone Lake rises above most of its genre conventions in their deviously playful glory, twisting them so that the more obvious gags feel like a boon rather than a hindrance.
Chuckles also extends to the camera work as both Morgan and Saw X’s cinematographer Nick Matthews captured insane close-ups of nude chess pieces and brazenly cut to someone eating a bratwurst after an uncomfortably nude scene. While Bone Lake isn’t the flashiest of films, it does feature some interesting camerawork in a handful of scenes that take advantage of its setting which is located in a single space.
The reason Bone Lake aims to achieve, this is to examine the gaps in the communication that occurs between Diego and Sage. And while the takeaway is rather blunt (for the love of sanity, talk to your partner!), there is something about the authenticity of the relationship that draws you in, particularly during the frustrating early scenes where they simply do not talk. Their interactions with Will and Cin are crude caricatures laden with satire mixed with social commentaries, reminding one of Speak No Evil. It must be noted, though, that it is more aligned with the recent American remake than the Danish original, as this film opts for a loud, crowd-pleasing tone as opposed to a cruel one.
All four leads do excellently well, with Roe and Nechita leaning into Will and Cin’s duplicitous persona. They nail both the grotesque and the hilarious aspects of the characters to maximum effect, and although Pigossi and Hasson are given the gravely less interesting roles, they will be characters that you root for. Hasson, who left so many surprised with his minimal but impactful performance in James Wan’s Malignant, is outstanding here.
The inevitable twists and turns do come, however, much of the reveal is staggered to the back half of the narrative which Friedlander masterfully spaces throughout the film for an increased pace, ramping up as tension mounts, revealing the real motives behind Will and Cin’s actions. This culminates in Bone Lake’s pièce de résistance; A blood-soaked finale that is truly one for the history books. Chaotic violence ignites in the drawn-out third act, which builds and builds only to explode at the stunning final shot. The film does begin to adopt more traditional horror elements in this stretch, but it’s so much fun that it’s hard (pun intended) to knock it for that.
A more forgiving approach to its criticism is its description as an erotic thriller. Bone Lake is being marketed as a throwback to the golden era of erotic thrillers, but it seems reluctant to embrace the elements that made those films so outrageous. Bone Lake certainly does not fall into that category and, while it contains a few sex scenes, the dialogue is far more provocative than what happens on screen. The nudity is also minimal, with the key players’ private parts being tastefully covered by strategic props. This works at times, like in one early shot where bear-skin Rug’s head’s mouth obscures Diego and Sage’s genitals. But the film, much like the film itself, is more stimulating than it is erotic.
Putting that gripe aside, Bone Lake might be one of the best surprises at Fantastic Fest for its sheer entertainment value. It features awesome set pieces and a compelling plot alongside the gore and humor, which makes for a thrilling experience.
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