Lake Mungo 

Introduced by critic Adam Nayman at the October 15 screening; preceding the screening, at 5:00 p.m., Nayman will lead a free talk about the film and the found footage horror genre in the Fox Amphitheater.

Dir. Joel Anderson. 2008, 87 mins. DCP. With Rose Traynor, Martin Sharpe, David Pledger, Talia Zucker. One of the most creative, unexpected, and chilling paranormal thrillers of the twenty-first century, Lake Mungo, a singular one-off from Australian director Joel Anderson, was released in its home country to little fanfare in 2008 but has steadily grown in stature as a whispered-about, puzzled-over cult item in the years hence. Taking the form of a traditional documentary, evoking the Unsolved Mysteries model, Lake Mungo tells a story in testimonials and “found” footage of a young woman who drowned during a family vacation and whose parents and sibling believe has returned to haunt them. This is only the beginning of a twisting-turning, increasingly emotional, and wickedly intelligent inquiry into belief, the unreliability of photographic evidence, and the stories we tell ourselves and others. “Of all the mock-doc horror films put into circulation after 1999’s The Blair Witch Project, it does by far the most with the formal and ontological possibilities of the format, embedding several competing levels of authorship within its meticulously designed outer shape.” —Adam Nayman, Reverse Shot 

Tickets: $15 / $11 senior and students / $9 youth (ages 3–17) / discounted for MoMI members ($7–$11). Order tickets. Please pick up tickets at the Museum’s admissions desk upon arrival. All seating is general admission. Review safety protocols before your visit.