Halloween 2019: October 4th

Lake Mungo (2008)

In the mid-two thousands, horror movies were experiencing a renewed popularity. The DVD market was also still on the move up at the time, though those with any foresight probably figured the decline was coming soon. These two factors would combine with the After Dark Horrorfest, an annual festival of independent horror films that would play as a set in theaters before being released on DVD. While a cool idea conceptually, most of the After Dark movies ranged from utterly forgettable to outright awful. It got to the point where I pretty much dismissed any film associated with the brand. However, occasionally gems would sneak in under the label. When I started hearing positive notices about “Lake Mungo,” one of After Dark's 2008 offerings, I was surprised. So surprised it took me until now to get around to it.

Presented as a television documentary, “Lake Mungo” follows the Palmer family of Victoria, Australia. One year ago, sixteen year old daughter Alice disappeared while out swimming with her family. Though mother June is hopeful, father Russell is soon brought in to identify a corpse that is clearly Alice. In the days and months since then, the Palmer family starts to experience strange events. Younger brother Matthew, an obsessive videographer, captured what appeared to be a blurry photograph of Alice at the lake... After she disappeared. Throughout the house, he captures what appears to be Alice's ghost on video tape. June brings in a psychic to investigate but, instead, the family uncovers the secrets Alice concealed both in life and death.

“Lake Mungo” is entirely committed to verisimilitude, feeling one-hundred percent like an actual documentary in its editing, pacing, and tone. The actors all look, act, and sound like real people. This pitch-perfect loyalty to realism makes “Lake Mungo” incredibly creepy at times. Though not a real found-footage movie, the film is fascinated by blurry video footage and photographs, including those from cell phones. A trick the film exploits successfully repeatedly is slow-zooms into the background of these photos, revealing a spooky, ghostly image that wasn't immediately apparent before. Every time, this technique is really creepy, the film confidently presenting the unnerving presence of a ghostly girl existing alongside normal people. This is a haunted house story for the modern age, placing its ghosts thoroughly in the mundane context of suburban homes and wholesome vacation spots.

Writer/director Joel Anderson – currently his only feature credit – wares his influences on his sleeve. “Lake Mungo” is the modern descendant of “Ghostwatch,” with its presentation of being a regular TV broadcast, its spectre lurking in the background of shots, and a story reveal mid-way through that evidence has been hoaxed. Moreover, “Twin Peaks” was pretty clearly an inspiration, the family's last name being “Palmer” being the most obvious nod. This is the story of a teenage girl with a double life. Alice, we soon learn, was regularly having threesomes with the married couple next door. She was keeping “secrets about having secrets,” as one character puts it. Like Lynch's landmark program, “Lake Mungo” is about the darkness beneath suburban perfection, unsightly images lurking in the background that can only be ignored for so long.

Yet more than even that, “Lake Mungo” is a frank depiction of grief. June is so haunted by her daughter's passing, that she refuses to initially acknowledge she's even dead. After her daughter's corpse is exhumed, she begins to sleepwalk, wandering into stranger's homes. Actress Rosie Trayner portrays her as clearly still shell-shocked by the trauma of loosing her child. Alice's ghost lingers in the house, not immediately seen but always present. Like grief itself, the ghost can never be banished but must be lived with. The film gets right at the guts of what the ghost genre means, acknowledging the ghost's status as a lingering reminder of our own mortality.

Instead of looking at “Lake Mungo” as just another member of the AfterDark Horrorfest family – check out that exploitative, bikini-clad poster art they designed for the film – one should consider the film as part of the wave of Australian horror that sprung up last decade. It's certainly a different breed of horror than “Wolf Creek” or “The Loved Ones” but is another proud example of the wonderful genre efforts that were coming out of that country at the time. While some referring to “Lake Mungo” as one of the scariest movies ever made might be overstating it slightly, it's a fabulously creepy and fantastically subtle cinematic haunting. This ghost story is likely to linger in my mind for quite a bit longer. [8/10]

Latitude Zero (1969)

Even though I didn't much care for it, “Atragon” was clearly very successful for Toho. I suspect the movie was popular in both Japan and America. I say this because, towards the end of the decade, Toho would create a spiritual sequel of sorts as an international co-production. Don Sharp – perhaps better known for directing films like “Kiss of the Vampire” or “Curse of the Fly” – would offer to co-produce another sci-fi submarine creature feature. The cast would be an international affair too, with Toho stars like Akihiko Hirata and Akira Takarada appearing alongside known American actors like Joseph Cotton and Caesar Romero. This didn't exactly work out for Toho, as Sharp dropped out just as production was about to start, forcing the studio to go ahead with half the intended budget. Perhaps this is why “Latitude Zero” is usually overshadowed by its more well-known sort-of, kind-of predecessor.

Oceanic geology Dr. Tashiro, marine biologist Jules Masson, and journalist Perry Lawton dive into the ocean in a bathysphere. When this goes wrong, they are unexpectedly rescue by a mysterious submarine: The Alpha, outfitted with advanced technology and captained by Craig McKenzie. The crew of the Alpha claims to be 200 years old. They hail from Latitude Zero, an underwater utopia where the inhabitants – all ship-wreck survivors – never age or gets sick. The only threat to this perfect kingdom is Dr. Malic, an evil scientist with his own high-tech submarine, the Black Shark, who has a habit of creating horrific human/animal hybrids.

While American science fiction of the late sixties and early seventies grew increasingly apocalyptic, Japanese sci-fi of the same era seems way more optimistic. “Latitude Zero” presents its utopia without any subversion or dark edge. The film runs with the idea that, if people live forever, they'll have no use for greed, hatred, or interpersonal strife. Dr. Malic's evil is presented as an aberration. It just so happens most of the residents of Latitude Zero are genius scientists, who pass the time making scientific advancements like an artificial sun or a bath that heals all sickness. This utopian image is awash in swingin' sixties camp, naturally. The immortals wear a lot of golden swimsuits and jump on trampolines. Yet the film's depiction of human nature is ultimately upbeat and positive, reflecting Ishiro Honda's belief in world peace. Then again, “Latitude Zero” is basically a children's movie so you'd probably expect its philosophies to be fairly wholesome.

When the film isn't explaining its utopian ideas, it's throwing all sorts of crazy, fun, goofy sci-fi shit at the viewer. The first act doubles down on submarine battles, the u-boats spiraling through the murky depths and blasting missiles at each other. (Though none of them look as cool as the Gotengo.) Once the heroes go on the offensive against Malic, they outfit themselves with high-tech weapons. This include jet packs and suits with laser blasters built into the fingertips. The special effects, the penultimate Toho credit of Eiji Tsuburaya, are charmingly lo-fi. The monsters are similarly amusing. Such as the seven-foot tall bat humanoids, with their high-pitched shrieks, and the squirm-inducing man-sized rats. The star kaiju of the film is a giant lion/condor hybrid with a human's mind. (Just called a griffon in the dub but its official Japanese name is, confusingly, Black Moth.) While not the most convincing of Toho's monsters, the griffon is better executed and more interesting than Manda was in “Atragon.”

The international cast gives “Latitude Zero” a distinctively different atmosphere than a lot of Toho flicks. Probably because few of the actors are dubbed in the English cut. Takarada and Hirata actually speak very clear English, allowing their clear charisma to be truly shown off. Sometimes this backfires though. Hikaru Kuroki, as the henchwoman whose brain ends up in the giant griffon, has a very thick accent and clearly isn't comfortable on-screen. (This is her sole screen credit.) It's not just the Japanese actors who sometimes struggle with this. Mysterious exploitation siren Linda Haynes, in her debut role, is surprisingly wooden as the comely doctor aboard the Alpha. As for the big stars, Joseph Cotton is amusingly fatherly as the super-heroic Captain Makenzie. Caesar Romero has a lot of fun as the cackling, practically mustache twirling Dr. Malic.

It's interesting to me that “Latitude Zero” feels like such a divided film. All the sci-fi and giant monster stuff feels entirely like a classic Toho kaiju flick. The scenes of people hanging around futuristic buildings, on the other, feel much dryer and far more American. I guess the two styles didn't quite mesh. (It didn't dissuade Toho from trying again. In the mid-seventies, they attempted to make a movie called “Nessie” with Hammer, an unrealized collaboration I would've loved to have seen.) Though very goofy and ultimately extremely minor in the grand tapestry of Toho's monster movies, “Latitude Zero” is definitely a fun watch. In the loosely connected super-submarine duo – the presence of high-tech subs is the only linking fiber – I'll take it over “Atragon” any day. [6/10]

Tales from the Cryptkeeper: Too Cool for School

If the first episode of “Tales from the Cryptkeeper's” third season was ripping off a vintage “The Twilight Zone” episode, its second is directly inspired by “Jurassic Park.” A pair of teenage girls decide the rules don't apply for them and skip school, on the day they'll be dissecting frogs in science class. Instead, they wander into the swamp and meet a friendly if stern zoologist. The next day, the girls haphazardly mix frog eggs with dinosaur DNA – which is quite literally just sitting in a fridge at the school. This creates a pack of mutated frog/dinosaur hybrids, who proceed to chase the girls through the school and back into the swamp. The scene where they hide in the school meat locker is clearly ripping off Spielberg's dino-classic.

Now that the Cryptkeeper is directly interacting with the stories, the writers have gotten lazier. For the second episode in a row, the Cryptkeeper is directly responsible for introducing the monster and causes it to disappear at the end, being positioned as an arbitrator of justice against the disobedient youths. In this episode, I really noticed the downgrade in animation quality. The girl's blank stares and wide-eyes are way creepier than the dino-frogs. The preachy moral couldn't be more hammered into the viewer's head. The weirdly literal presentation of this moral – kids, don't skip school or dinosaur-frogs will try and eat you – seems to negate the goal though. (For added educational value, the zoologist character talks a little about conservation.) About the only thing I like about this episode are the dino-frogs themselves. They look like raptors with hoppity frog legs, which is pretty cute. [4/10]

Forever Knight: Partners of the Month

“Partners of the Month” represents “Forever Knight” in an uncharacteristically light-hearted mod. Schanke and his often-referenced but rarely seen wife Myra are going through a rough stretch. The arguments get so bad that they actually separate. This is bad news for Nick, as Schanke haphazardly moves into his apartment. Knight has to hastily hide his vampiric nature. Schanke's relationship problems also start to affect his police work. This is most noticeable because their current case involves a workaholic, with a number of mistresses, who was mysteriously shot dead while his wife waited upstairs.

Seeing “Forever Knight” cut loose with a goofier episode is a nice change of pace. (Though the show's visual presentation remains ever gloomy and dark.) The scenes devoted to Schanke barging into Nick's apartment, or the two attempting to co-habitat, are pretty funny. A breakfast sequence shows off Geraint Wyn-Davies' rarely seen talent for deadpan facial reactions. They quickly begin to bicker like an old married couple, a good gag. Once Schank uncovers the true killer – the murder mystery this weak is truly superfluous – Nick acts behind the scene to give his parent some glory, a cute touch. The scene where Schank drowns his sorrow at Jenette's vampire club are amusing too. The flashback sequence are devoted to Nick and Jenette breaking up during the Renaissance, showing even vampires have bad break-ups apparently. [7/10]