Neverlake

This film is just as effective as any of the really good high dollar films. I was very impressed with this movie - it's different than I was expecting and a lot better than I anticipated. If you liked the films The Others, The Conjuring, The Orphanage or The Woman in Black then you might like Neverlake! I was blown away by how good this film is.

I really can't talk much about the film or I will give it away. It's one of those films you will just have to watch for yourself. What I can say is it's a good ghost story (the souls of the lake), a girl with a very strange father and his housekeeper and it has one heck of a great twist so it's more than just a ghost story! That's all I will tell anyone so I won't ruin the movie for first time viewers.

This is one of those films that proves you don't need lots of money to create a very effective horror film... all you need is a great writer, cinematographer and actors. I really enjoyed this film.

9/10

Sometimes, someone has a pretty nice idea that depending on right, smart and carefully planned execution has the potential to become a great film. Neverlake is, in my opinion, an example of how a wanting execution spoils this kind of a nice idea. After watching it I couldn't help but feeling bad for whomever was responsible for the general plot, as it felt to me like showing such a story the right way could have been great, while showing it in this way simply didn't do it justice.

As the trailers and plot summaries have already told you, Neverlake tells the story of a teenage girl going to visit her father in Italy. There, she is confronted by both his half colleague half lover (showing a bluntly exaggerated interest in her physical health) and a party of children of different ages each suffering from some sort of physical ailment of deformity. In addition, the storyline is saturated with hints alluding to something supernatural haunting the nearby lake. Enough to make one curious and follow the plot closely, but also enough to frustrate a viewer, because okay, we get it, stop wasting screen time with another unnecessary hint, that's not how you set up a plot twist.

And then? Comes the plot twist, which is nefarious and grim, but has extremely little to do with the aforementioned redundant hints. Following the initial shock I couldn't help but wonder why the heck I was shown all these hints only to lead to such a twist. Either the hints or the twist should not have been used, it almost feels like the creators couldn't come up with enough relevant scenes.

After all this criticism anyone reading could think that I didn't enjoy Neverlake, but I actually did. The fine acting and intriguing characters along with a story that could have been better but isn't all bad were seemingly enough to create a rewarding Horror experience. I'm merely saying one should lower their expectations in advance if they wish to enjoy this film, and not wait for anything spectacular or overly impressive. An average story in an average film.

I am aware that this film is not perfect. Maybe eight out of then is a little too high as a rate but you should consider that since the seventies and early eighties the Italian horror movie gender has been completely abandoned and disown here in its homeland. So it really gives me solace that for once there is an Italian horror movie that I can support without shame. And mind you, I am not usually enthusiastic about my country.

Of course since Italian acting school nowadays is dreadful one of the things that keeps this film going is the fact that the cast is international. Good choice. None of the actors is a genius but they all are quite good.

I like a lot that the story talks about ancient Italian myths and it is set in a gloomy misty Tuscany miles away from the clichés we are used to in American movie. Tuscany is sunny and full of vegetation and vines and good food and beautiful country houses and charming little towns but in winter it really is just like that.

The screenplay is good. All the flaws in the story you can pick up during the movie have an explanation in the end if you are patient. It has almost the kind of creepy feeling of a Pupi Avati movie but it actually makes sense in the end.

Unfortunately the film slows down a lot during the second half before the final part and this is my main problem with it.

This said, the direction is good and discreet, the screenplay is interesting the CG special effects are few but nice so I am really happy to support this film. If only there were more like this one made in Italy...

When I say 'action', I mean getting to the meat of the story.

First 50 mins (and yes, I went back and double checked on BluRay) were way too boring. So boring that I had this BluRay since 2014 and only NOW (in 2015) sat through it all because I had nothing else to watch.

So yeah, first 50 mins will bore you. Last 35 mins will enthrall you.

Last 35 mins also are surprisingly darker than I imagined, for this movie. First 50 mins give you the impression that you are watching some same old cliché-fest of a ghost movie. But I would say, the ending moments are pretty good.

Also, the movie is well acted. But some of the dialogues feel too artificial (only 'some'). Overall, watch the movie for the last 35 mins, it's worth it.

5/10 (5 for the last 35 mins, -5 for the first 50 mins)

Neverlake: This could have been a very good horror film but s left down by pacing, especially in the middle act.

A girl arrives in Tuscany, travelling from her US boarding school to visit her father who has carried out Archaeological work at an Etruscan site in a lake for the past 20 years. She meets some strange children who tell her that the spirits of the Etruscan's are disturbed because their statues have been removed.

This is a ghost story but also contains a real life saga which is far more terrifying .

Worth watching.