‘Bone Lake’ Movie Review: A Tight, Darkly Fun Foursome Thriller
Photo from Bleecker Street
From Jeremy Kibler
Note to self and unsuspecting horror-movie characters: if someone else double books an Airbnb, leave! Don’t question if you can make it work. Don’t even call your host to see if they actually made a mistake. Just leave. Now that we have the public service announcement out of the way, please enjoy director Mercedes Bryce Morgan’s Bone Lake, a tight, deviously fun foursome thriller.
It was supposed to be a romantic weekend alone in lakehouse rental for writerly couple Diego (Marco Pigossi) and Sage (Maddie Hasson). Not long after they settle in with a quickie on the bearskin rug, another couple shows up. Will (Alex Rose) and Cin (Andra Nechita) had a reservation, too, so they all come to an agreement to get over the discomfort, make do and share the space. The mansion on Bone Lake is so beautiful and spacious, so what’s the harm in just spending a weekend with another couple and maybe make new friends in the process? Well, Will and Cin are the more spontaneous couple, so when they try putting the moves on their new friends separately, temptation ensues and romantic trust is tested — and everything escalates wildly.
Getting its title from the adjacent lake that’s said to be full of the skeletal bodies disposed by a serial killer, Bone Lake enticingly sets a threat from the start with the tease of a foreboding, anatomically violent cold open. Joshua Friedlander’s script is clever, but Mercedes Bryce Morgan’s (Spoonful of Sugar) dynamic direction is even more clever. With Nick Matthews’ nifty camerawork, Morgan directs the hell out of it.
Much of the credit goes to the four lead performances. Each performer has to navigate a bait-and-switch, and they all deliver a familiar scenario with credibility and compelling reasons to keep watching. Presented as the protagonists, Diego and Sage are the most developed. Brazilian actor Marco Pigossi and Maddie Hasson (who is somehow not related to Florence Pugh or Willa Fitzgerald) bring a relatability that makes it easy to root for this couple. Pretty people who are up to the task, Alex Rose and Andra Nechita sell their sex appeal as beguiling threats. They give us just enough to know what Will and Cin are capable of in the areas of seduction and psychological warfare.
The destination is less shocking than one hopes, however not without its satisfyingly bloody payoffs, but it’s the getting-there that is cleverly fraught with awkward tension and simmering dread. One key detail during the big reveal is particularly daring and transgressive with enough creepy insinuation. Once the other shoe drops, those final 30 minutes are killer with entertaining drag-out fights involving glass, an axe, chainsaw, fire poker, knives, and a lucky outboard motor.
Similar to either version of Speak No Evil, Bone Lake mercilessly explores social mores when four’s a crowd. This wickedly pleasurable thriller should make viewers think twice about befriending sexy couples at Airbnbs.
Rating: 3.5/5
Bone Lake hits theaters on October 3, 2025.
