While A Ghost Story focused on a romantic relationship, Lake Mungo, also of a more overtly supernatural bent, looks at the love that endures following the loss of a family member, and the unique difficulties caused by the recurring waves of grief that ensue. 

After 16-year-old Alice (Talia Zucker) dies by drowning, her family struggles to adapt. A series of unexplained phenomena in their home leads them to believe that Alice may still be alive. Although this hope is soon dashed, strange things keep happening in the family home, some of which lead them to uncover Alice’s secrets. 

A mixture of pseudo-documentary and found footage that has led some to categorise the film as a kind of horror, director Joel Anderson has insisted that Lake Mungo is instead a film about grief. For the family, something essential has been lost, and Alice’s absence carries a weight wholly different to that of her presence, especially as her character continues to evolve as they learn more about her. The memory of her is reshaped as new facts come to light, their loss a live thing that deepens rather than finds accommodation. 

Notes by Kevin Coyne.

Screening as part of our season This Mortal Coil.