Erotic thrillers are a bit of a lost art, enjoying a Golden Age in the ’80s before tapering off in the mid-’90s around the time the genre was parodied in 1993’s Fatal Instinct. By the 2000s, notable entries in the the genre had all but disappeared thanks to its success on the direct-to-video market and the advent of the internet with its easily accessible pornography. It has has gone through a bit of a resurgence lately with films like The Voyeurs, Deep Water and Sanctuary, and we can now add Mercedes Bryce Morgan‘s aptly-named Bone Lake to the list, who brings a knowing sense of humor and feminine perspective to the genre.
Supposedly happy couple Diego (Marco Pigossi) and Sage (Maddie Hasson) splurge on a luxurious AirBnb to spend some quality time together. Neither wants to admit that they’ve entered a bit of a rut, with mediocre writer Diego quitting his teaching job to work on an erotic novel, leaving Sage solely responsible for the finances. Their sex life suffers as a result, with Sage faking orgasms every time they have sex. Upon arriving at the residence, they are shocked to find that it has been mistakenly double-booked when the sexually liberated Will (Alex Roe) and Cin (Andra Nechita) walk in the front door. Rather than seek other accommodations, the couples decide to share the house. As they spend more and more time together, Diego and Sage start to suspect that Will and Cin (short for Cinnamon, by the way) aren’t as forthcoming as they’ve let on as they start planting seeds of doubt in Diego and Sage’s relationship.
Morgan establishes the tone right away, opening the film with a tableau of two nude corpses before cutting to an elongating title card, cheekily evoking the image of a slowly hardening penis, as The Exploited’s “Sex and Violence” blares on the soundtrack. 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 (the irony Cin’s name being a homophone of “sin” isn’t lost on this writer), but Friedlander’s whip-smart script works overtime to prove that 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, twisting them on their heads in an deviously playful way to the point where the more obvious gags prove to be a boon rather than a hindrance.
This humor carries over to the visuals as well, with Morgan and Saw X cinematographer Nick Matthews reveling in extreme closeups of nude chess pieces or smash cuts to someone devouring a bratwurst following an awkwardly nude confrontation. Bone Lake isn’t a particularly showy film, but it’s peppered with some nifty camerawork in a few scenes making the most of its single location setting.
Bone Lake‘s ultimate goal is to interrogate the communication barriers surrounding Diego and Sage, and while the message is clear (communicate with your partner!), there’s an authenticity to their relationship that makes it all click, especially in the more frustrating earlier scenes where they aren’t communicating. Their interactions with Will and Cin are broadly satirical, calling to mind Speak No Evil in its handling of social conventions and politeness. It should be noted, however, that it has more in common with the recent American remake than the Danish original, opting for a raucous, crowd-pleaser of a film rather than a mean-spirited one.
All four of the leads do excellent work here, with Roe and Nechita reveling in Will and Cin’s duplicitous nature. They nail the hilarity and horror of the characters to maximum effect, and while Pigossi and Hasson are given the inherently less exciting roles, they will be characters that you root for. Hasson, who made such a big impression with limited screen time in James Wan’s Malignant, is especially good here.
The twists and turns inevitably come, but Friedlander wisely staggers the reveals throughout the back half, keeping the film moving along at a brisk pace as tensions rise and the true intentions of Will and Cin come to light. This all leads to Bone Lake‘s piece de resistance: a blood-soaked finale that is truly one for the books. Violence erupts in the protracted third act that builds and builds all the way up to the phenomenal final shot. More conventional horror elements come into play here, but the film is having so much fun that it’s hard (pun intended) to hold it against it.
What’s easier to hold against it is its categorization as an erotic thriller. Bone Lake is being sold as a throwback to the heyday of erotic thrillers, though it is hesitant to lean into the qualities that made those films such lurid trash. Bone Lake is far from lurid trash and, while there are a few sex scenes, the dialogue is more salacious than anything shown on screen. Nudity is scant as well, with the main players’ naughty bits strategically hidden behind objects. This occasionally works, such as one early scene in which the open maw of a bear skin rug’s head obscures Diego and Sage’s pelvic regions; but it, like the film itself, is more titillating than it is erotic.
That aside, Bone Lake emerges as one of the biggest surprises of Fantastic Fest, operating as an incredibly entertaining thriller that doesn’t skimp on the gore or the laughs. It’s a goddamn blast from start to finish.
Bone Lake had its world premiere at Fantastic Fest and is currently seeking distribution.
