Film Road to Halloween: Lake Bodom (2016)

The road to Halloween is paved with good films. Wherein we countdown to the spirited season with a hundred doses of horror. 5 days to go.

When you think of horror cinema, what country comes to mind? My mind immediately goes to France with films like Raw, Martyrs, Inside and Them. Another country is of course The United States; Hollywood churns out cheap horror films quicker than I can ingest them, but some of them are actually pretty good, I personally have a soft spot for the Friday the 13^th remake. You might also think of Japan, Spain or Russia, all very fine countries for horror cinema. 

I can guarantee no one’s mind goes to Finland. I can practically feel all of you going “Huh?” at your screens right now. Yes, Finland does exist and we have a pretty flourishing cinema scene, but we’re not great with genre films. We don’t really do genre films if I’m being honest. But every now and then, a filmmaker will get one financed and made and it is glorious. Specifically, I’m talking about Lake Bodom. 

Lake Bodom is a real place, a real lake, where a bunch of teenagers were brutally killed in the 60s and the murders have never been solved. The murders have become the stuff of legends; you simply can’t grow up in Finland and not know about the Bodom murders. They’re particularly grisly and violent for such a small and peaceful country and ripe for a cinematic retelling. Frankly, it’s strange it’s taken the industry so long to monetise such a juicy real-life story. Perhaps it’s out of respect, but Lake Bodom really knocks this one out the park. 

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Director Taneli Mustonen is smart enough not to try to recreate the murders and setting, but in fact plays into the nostalgia and obsession around the event. Four teenagers camp out in the woods in order to recreate the murders for mainly their own fun. However, what if, hypothetically, the killer was still out there? Things get bloody and what follows is a wonderfully camp, moody and twisty slasher set in the murky Finnish woods.

Lake Bodom wasn’t featured on anyone’s top 10 horror lists because A) very few people saw it for obvious reasons and B) it doesn’t exactly reinvent the genre or fit into the nice and neat “elevated horror” trend. It’s simply a fun, old-school, well-executed horror romp which is often exactly what I want from a horror film. I want to have a good time and enjoy to spectacle that only horror can provide.

Admittedly, Lake Bodom is schlocky at best, the performances aren’t great (one of the characters is played by one of the most successful rappers in Finland and he gets a line that’s so bad, it’s iconic), but the cinematography and use of light are what lift Lake Bodom from the pits of cinematic hell into the gates of celluloid heaven. Finland is known for its green and lush forests but they’re treated to a different vision here. The trees encase the characters, almost cocooning them to a whole different world. There are no cars, trains or other people here. It’s tranquil and quiet, blissfully calm. 

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But come nightfall, the trees all of a sudden devour them, hanging threateningly over the characters and surrounding them with darkness and inescapable dread. When the bloodshed begins, and begin it must, the forest seems like an unending maze that cannot be escaped. The darkness is only occasionally pierced by pale moonlight and the gush of arterial blood. 

Daniel Lindholm’s cinematography beautifully elevates the script, which towards the end thinks is smarter than it really is. It’s a twisty tale, but some of the twists feel undeserved and cheap. They might make Lake Bodom fun but they also cheapen it. There are some interesting themes here about religious upbringing, our obsession over violence and local legends, with a slight stretch even the MeToo movement, but they aren’t explored enough to make Lake Bodom a cleverer and snappier film.

Regardless of all the criticism, Lake Bodom delivers on the kills and the guts. It’s bloody and nasty, as it’s supposed to be. And the best part? It’s only 81 minutes! Lean and mean, Lake Bodom is well worth your time.