The Winter Lake is a Mystery Thriller film directed by Phil Sheerin. It stars Anson Boon, Charlie Murphy, Emma Mackey, and Michael McElhatton in main roles and was released on 8th March 2021 on Video on Demand.
Tom (Anson Boon) and his mother Elaine (Charlie Murphy) have moved from England to Ireland after an incident that they hardly talk and Elaine blames his son and his mess that bound them to move. Their house is in an area where there is a disappearing lake (turlough) nearby. Tom spends most days near that lake, despite his mother warns him that the lake is dangerous. One day, Tom discovers a bag at the edge of that lake and when he looked inside he found a skull and the bones of a baby. The house nearby is owned by a friendly and kind man Ward (Michael McElhatton) and lives with his daughter Holly (Emma Mackey). Ward helped Elaine one day with her car and this leads to Tom and Holly spending time together. "I know you had it" - Holly says to Tom. So what is Holly and Ward hiding? Is Ward really a good man? Is Holly trustworthy? Are Tom and Elaine safe?
Written by David Turpin, The Winter Lake has an interesting premise and takes off with a great start centering around a family who has their problem and past. The dark and mysterious atmosphere is there and you'll be wondering what's going to happen. As nothing is clear about what's going on, it make you more curious. What made Elaine and Tom leave England, was it just as Elaine says "it didn't go well with that man" or something horrible happened. Tom seemed to be strongly affected by something, he speaks less and is unpredictable, and loves his own company. And then everything changes when he found that baby skull and bones and befriends Holly.
Holly is very bold, outspoken, and is good with lads as his father says. But it is just a matter of time when it starts to drag and drag and its mystery completely fades off. It becomes boring and a yawn fest when you start to predict "the baby is this, Holly is that" and the fun completely dries out. Every character has been shown with such secrecy, maladjusted and emotionally disordered, it works initially but as said it hardly even matters near the end. This could have been better as it had the potential but what you get here is a mystery that is not so solid and you'll easily solve it in 40-50 minutes while watching the film. And that's no good.
Emma Mackey is a delight to watch. It's because of her I saw it. After Sex Education, considering her a rising star is not wrong as she did a nice job here. Anson Boon as Tom is also in a solid form bringing authenticity in his performance. GOT's Roose Bolton Michael McElhatton as Ward also leaves his mark and Charlie Murphy is also in a great form as Elaine.
The cinematography by Ruairà O'Brien is easily the best thing to witness here. It perfectly gives the chilling effect and captures the beauty of Ireland splendidly. The production design by Emma Lowney is appropriate and the music by August Murphy King is spine chilling. Always gives a false impression that something horrible is going to happen but nothing happens. Sadly. The editing by John Walters could have been sharper.
The Winter Lake by Phil Sheerin and David Turpin flops to keep you hooked in their bizarre and mysterious world. The case related to the baby bone and skull is not that strong, neither it has the power to make you uncomfortable with whatever that's going on. It starts well but gradually it loses its magic. Though we see some consistently good performances from the actors here, the camera work and background score are better than the film and that's it, nothing more to say.
Rating:- 2/5
Now available via Video On Demand.
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