LAKE MUNGO (2008)
Filmed in a Documentary style, “Lake Mungo” starts with the death of a 16 year-old girl, Alice Palmer. As her family tries to come to terms with the loss and explain the eeriness that haunts their home, they begin to uncover dark truths about Alice’s life that she kept secret. The documentary style of this film enhances the chilling aspects of this story and makes it feel even closer to reality. This movie also sheds light on the complex relationship between Alice and her mother and the things they hid from each other. While the acting in this film leaves something to be desired, the composition of old photos and recreated home videos makes the film feel like a genuine true crime documentary. As we learn more and more about events leading up to Alice’s death, the movie continues to add depth to her identity, feeling all-too-real and eerie.
JACOB’S LADDER (1990)
“Jacob’s Ladder” follows a Vietnam war veteran, Jacob Singer, who attempts to live a normal life once he comes home to the United States. Throughout this film, he finds himself experiencing intense hallucinations and paranoia stemming from his combat-induced PTSD. While on a mission to figure out what happened to him, Singer goes back and forth between timelines, distorting his sense of reality. He sees otherworldly creatures at every turn, all the while grieving his passed son. The directing and shot compositions make you feel just as jumbled and confused as Singer does. As he’s on a mission to figure out what the government did to his mind during the war, everything he knows to be true is questioned. This movie displays Singer’s beautifully obscured and creepy version of reality. It also gives us a peek into the disgusting lengths that leaders go to in times of war, unhesitatingly stripping the humanity from soldiers.
PONTYPOOL (2008)
This film focuses on a small-town Canadian radio station and the relationship between the host, Grant Mazzy, and the producer, Sydney Briar. Their day starts off as it normally does, when suddenly their average news reports take a dramatic turn. As Mazzy and Briar come to learn, the world is suddenly facing an inexplicable epidemic that’s infecting and killing hundreds within their town alone. The crew begins a desperate search for information while the virus slowly encroaches on them, all the while staying live for their listeners. Throughout the film, the eerie nature of this unknown plague unfolds in a way that is both disturbing and intriguing, keeping you at the edge of your seat. While there aren’t many jumpscares, this film is filled with shock value and gore that enhances the already creepy and suspenseful plot.