Cinema
Lake of the Dead
De dødes tjern
Kåre Bergstrøm · 1958
Synopsis
Six city dwellers from Oslo make their way to Bjørn Werner's cabin, in the forests of Østerdal: Werner has disappeared, and his dog has been found shot near a lake. Among them are his twin sister Liljan, the crime novelist Bernhard Borge and his wife Sonja. A legend is attached to the place, that of a man who killed his sister and her lover before drowning himself, and it is said that those who live in the cabin are drawn beneath the waters. The guests investigate, and fall little by little under the lake's spell.
Context
The film was released on 17 December 1958, based on a novel André Bjerke had published in 1942 under the name Bernhard Borge; Bjerke collaborated on the screenplay and himself plays Gabriel Mørk. It is seen as a turning point of Norwegian cinema and the breakthrough of its director, and Johnny Alucard presents it as probably the country's first horror film. Critics at the time praised the atmosphere, the photography and Gunnar Sønstevold's music.
Who it is for
An hour and a quarter, in black and white, in which the dread comes from the forest, the water and the shadow more than from effects.
Prizes and reception
Ranked in 1998 the fourth best Norwegian film of all time by one hundred and one critics gathered by Dagbladet.
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