Mercedes Bryce Morgan is honing her skillset as a psychosexual horror filmmaker, first with Shudder’s Spoonful of Sugar, and now with the festival title Bone Lake. Her second collaboration with actress Maddie Hasson follows in the footsteps of rental thrillers like The Rental or Superhost, except with a horned-up twist. Fidelity and fairy tales are tested in a game of sensual wits as writer Joshua Friedlander explores what would happen if Cupid scripted Speak No Evil. An awkward social scenario requires some suspended belief upon arrival, but as players begin breaking normalized behavioral rules, Bone Lake becomes a scintillating competition filled with dangerous temptations.
Aspiring author Diego (Marco Pigossi) and his supportive journalist girlfriend Sage (Maddie Hasson) rent a lavish estate for a much-needed lover’s getaway. When they arrive, they’re met with a complication — a double booking. Vacationers Will (Alex Roe) and Cinnamon (Andra Nechita), “Cin” for short, confirm they’re also supposed to be staying the weekend. With no options and hospitable spirits, the couples embrace adventure and share each other’s company. Will filets fish for lunch, Cin whips up cocktails, and the strangers become chummy houseguests before long. However, Will and Cin start to ask increasingly personal questions — which puts Diego and Sage on guard.
Ignoring the similarities between Speak No Evil’s families and Bone Lake’s couples is hard. Roe and Nechita are the James McAvoy and Aisling Franciosi roles, free spirits showboating their attraction with an undercurrent of betrayal. Pigossi and Hasson fill in for Scoot McNairy and Mackenzie Davis, down to intimacy frustrations and their one-time cheater backstory. Bryce Morgan’s cast compares favorably to Blumhouse’s ensemble, drawing tension from engagements that turn from parlor inquisitions to outright inappropriate proposals meant to challenge willpower. Bone Lake separates itself from Speak No Evil parallels once spicy gameplay becomes apparent, as Diego and Sage allow their relationship hangups to threaten any blissful future together.
Storytelling allure relies on Will’s and Cin’s performances, provoking insecurities and doubts within their newfound vacation friends. Bryce Morgan never hides the nastier side of Bone Lake because unrest is what keeps audiences engaged. Will and Cin waste no time isolating their targets and stirring drama, shifting focus onto Diego and Sage. Editor Anjoum Agrama keeps us in suspense by cutting away from ongoing seductions right before paydirt, so we’re forced to trust whatever Diego and Sage claim — an enthralling technique-slash-trick. We question who we believe and why within ourselves, which amplifies the themes of misguidance and paranoia that erode flimsy relationships.
Bryce Morgan commands conversational manipulation that speaks its evils until a more bloodlusting third act. Bone Lake is dialogue-heavy as Will and Cin negatively influence Diego and Sage, then excitedly violent as nervy discomfort turns into defensive measures. Friedlander’s screenplay recognizes how easily the predatory antics can become one-note and rightfully packs his finale with chainsaws and motorboats. It’s a multidimensional horror experience dealing with psychological and physical damage, which translates into a whole-body genre sensation. First impressions are deceptive as prepsters Will and Cin introduce what seems to be a dark comedy damned by silver tongues, but final scenes have more in common with splatterpunk classics that bury axes into squishy brains. Praise be.
What hinders Bone Lake is a characterized ignorance required to keep Diego and Sage from bolting to safety. It’s the Speak No Evil problem. Diego and Sage ignore a Minesweeper board of red flags and choose comfortable pleasantries over acknowledging Will and Cin’s tactics. Storytelling tries to blame Diego and Sage’s rockier past and unfaithful fantasies, but you might struggle to understand why the movie keeps happening after stranger-danger events. It’s the risk of an Airbnb thriller in the first place — we have to believe double-booked patrons would accept vacationing together. Bryce Morgan or Friedlander don’t fail to convince us, it’s more how the concept itself requires airtight reason.
Bone Lake is a hot-and-heavy psychological thriller with a lip-smacking mean streak as long as you’re on board. Bryce Morgan plops relationships in the hot seat and takes aim at politeness as entrapment. It’s a devious configuration of devilish charms and come-hither knee-buckling that’s worth a rise, even before the gushing grand finale. Performances across the board are a tangle of emotions constantly fighting primitive impulses, in some cases effective enough to require a cold shower. Whether you’re a hopeless romantic or a lovesick cynic, Bone Lake would make for an alternative date-night movie treat.
Movie Score: 3.5/5
Matt Donato is a Los Angeles-based film critic currently published on SlashFilm, Fangoria, Bloody Disgusting, and anywhere else he’s allowed to spread the gospel of Demon Wind. He is also a member of the Critics Choice Association. Definitely don’t feed him after midnight.
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