Lake Mungo Page #2

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old ALICE PALMER drowns while swimming in the local dam. When her body is recovered and a verdict of accidental death returned, her grieving family buries her. The family then experiences a series of strange and inexplicable events centered in and around their home. Profoundly unsettled, the Palmers seek the help of psychic and parapsychologist, RAY KEMENY. Ray discovers that Alice led a secret, double life. A series of clues lead the family to Lake Mungo where Alice's secret past emerges. Lake Mungo is a mystery, a thriller and a ghost story.
Genre: Drama, Horror, Mystery
Director(s): Joel Anderson
Production: After Dark Films
  1 nomination.
 
IMDB:
6.1
Rotten Tomatoes:
93%
R
Year:
2008
87 min
Website
1,889 Views


for hours at a time.

Just so that I didn't

have to go to bed...

...close my eyes

and go to sleep.

Sometimes, I'd actually

go into people's houses.

I didn't feel like I was

doing anything wrong.

l guess l really wanted to be

in someone else's life.

Do you remember

how Russell was doing?

Yeah, Russell was

working a lot.

At that point, I think

it might've helped him...

...with his grief.

Russell and I met

on a project in '98.

We worked together.

You've known each

other for years?

Yeah, a good few years.

Do you remember him

after Alice's death?

-What changed?

-It was work as normal.

It was troubling, I didn't

know what to say.

Did you notice a breakdown?

Not really. Everyone grieves

in their own way.

lt wasn't really my place

to tell him how to feel...

...but l certainly

was concerned.

I was really grateful

that I had my work.

l felt really guilty

about that at the time...

...but l just wanted

to get on with it.

One night in late February,

I came home from work...

...and I was sitting

in the kitchen.

I heard a noise coming

from Allie's room.

So I went into Allie's room.

I don't really know why...

...but l found myself

sitting down on the chair...

...in front of the dresser.

Before l could work out

what l was doing...

...Allie walked in.

She went over to her desk,

sharpened a pencil...

...and looked like

she was checking...

...for text messages

on her phone.

l was completely

freaked out.

She was completely

oblivious to my presence.

l don't know

what happened...

...l must've moved the bed

or squeaked my shoes...

...but she went

completely rigid.

l knew then that she knew

that l was there.

She slowly turned around,

looked me right in the eye...

...fully for what felt

like forever...

...and then she just

came at me.

Stood up and said:

''Get out! Get out!''

l got up and ran out

as fast as l could.

l could hear Russell crying.

He was here in the kitchen...

...Mathew and l

found him in here.

He was sobbing.

He was absolutely

inconsolable.

Did you believe Russell

when he said he saw a ghost?

Yeah, l do. l believe

he saw what he saw.

He's not the kind of man

to make something up.

So, l believe he saw something.

Whether it's a real ghost

or not, l don't really know...

...but l'm sure

he saw something.

I remember trying

to talk to members...

...of the church about

how to help June...

...and how to help

the Palmers.

There didn't seem to be

anything we could do.

I think part

of the reason was...

...because they weren't

church-goers...

...and didn't know how

to offer them comfort.

I don't even know

what June believes in.

l found myself mostly

concerned about Mathew.

I guess because those two

were always so close.

I was worried

how he would cope.

I remember he was

spending more time alone.

We were worried about him.

Mathew came in with some

unusual bruises on his body.

Unusual in terms

of distribution and depth.

We obviously took a history

trying to exclude trauma...

...but there was no history

he was able to give us.

We tested him for vasculitis,

excluded poisoning...

...or toxins in his system.

We were unable to turn up

anything conclusive...

...and several weeks

after the bruises...

...resolved spontaneously,

we were never really able...

...to establish a cause

for them.

My name is Steve Wilkie.

I'm Mathew's best friend.

l usually stay at Mathew's

two or three times a week.

We started a band together.

We normally play music

at my house.

Mathew seems

to be quieter...

...but he was always

very quiet.

I guess there weren't

warning bells going off.

I'd heard about June

going into people's houses...

...and Mathew never wanted

to talk about any of that.

l never asked him

about any of it.

I know that he was always

interested in photography.

At this time he was

starting to pursue it...

...with more passion.

Mathew was very keen

to learn about photography...

...so I was more

than willing to help out.

That's what I do.

He was picking my brains

about anything...

...from equipment,

to techniques, lighting.

He was a great learner

and employee.

Mathew, can you talk

to me about...

...the photographs

of the backyard...

...that you've been taking?

Yeah, basically l've taken

that same photo...

...with that composition

every three months...

...for the past four years.

It's just a photograph

of the backyard...

...looking out,

you can see the hills.

It's like a little project

that I set up...

...for myself

when we got here.

What was in the April 28th

photo that was different?

Well, it was basically

the same shot...

...but it would appear...

...that Alice is standing

against the fence.

Remember what the reaction

was at the house?

I wouldn't say

the mood was good...

...but it was better

than before.

lt was like it gave us

something to focus on.

All of this.

The photographs were

taken on the 3rd of April...

...they were developed

on the fourth...

...l looked at them

on the fifth...

...and looked at the dams

and water levels.

l was quite happy

but the following night...

...it was pointed out

to me by my wife...

...that there was

something in the background.

This image came up.

When I first looked

at the photograph...

...I didn't know

what to make of it.

The image was quite unsettling

because it certainly...

...looked like Alice.

It was an incredibly

discomforting image.

l became convinced

that Alice was still alive.

I didn't have any

rational explanation...

...for who was

in those photos.

But l did notice something

about Alice that June didn't.

l'd seen Alice's body.

l didn't think

she was alive.

l knew she wasn't.

l became convinced that

Russell made a mistake.

He himself said it didn't

look like anybody anymore.

June was so convinced

that l'd made a mistake...

...that l actually started

having doubts myself.

l started to think maybe...

...l'd made up in my mind

it was Alice's body...

...before l looked.

The circumstances were

so compelling to me...

...that l decided it was her.

More than 3 months

after the funeral...

...of Ararat teenager

Alice Palmer...

...her grieving parents

formally requested...

...her body be exhumed

from the cemetery.

Has been

some contention...

...from the Palmer family

about the accuracy...

...of the original

body identification.

June and Russell Palmer

were adamant...

...that DNA testing

be carried out.

They couldn't be sure

the body they identified...

...was indeed Alice.

Alice's body was exhumed

in the presence...

...of the funeral director,

Dr. Slatter.

There was a representative

from the coroner's office.

It was transported

to Ararat's hospital...

...where they took

DNA samples...

...and she stayed there

till the results came back.

A few days later,

we received a copy...

...of the coroner's full

preliminary report...

...and Alice's identity

was confirmed...

...by the DNA sample.

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Joel Anderson

Joel Anderson (born February 11, 1960) is a California politician and Republican member of the California State Senate. He represents the 38th Senate District. Anderson is a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), serving as California state leader. He is also known for violating campaign finance laws in 2009. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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