LAKE OF THE DEAD {1958}

 VOTED NORWAY'S ALL-TIME BEST THRILLER!!! 

More than once.  The book, that is.  And it's never fallen below #3 in the voting.  About a month ago, I read the novel which has been given it's first American translation by the spectacular folks at Valancourt Books.  And I loved it!  André Bjerke eerie mystery-thriller with horror overtones came out in 1942.  According to the introduction to the book, Norway has surprisingly little history of horror literature (or horror cinema, for that matter).  Bjerke was understandably concerned that a book with this much 'horror' in it might not go over well with the reading public in Norway.  He needn't have worried.  It was a big hit and, as stated above, is consistently voted the best Norwegian thriller of all time.  Then we come to the 1958 film adaptation which, by a happy coincidence, is included in the past year's magnificent ALL THE HAUNTS BE OURS folk horror box set by Severin -- so I get to watch the film I was just reading.  And yes, as always, the book is better than the film.  However, the film is superb and, while necessarily condensed, sticks very close to the book.  This, I'm sure, is because the author himself helped adapt the novel with director Kåre Bergstrøm.  Even more surprisingly, the author himself acts in the film!!!  As you can see by the poster up there, the book was originally written under the pseudonym of Bernhard Borge and that also happens to be the name of the main character in the book.  The book is told from Borge's point of view.  That's the first major change in the film as it is not told from a single character's point of view and there is, in fact, no 'main character' as such.  Borge is just one of the characters and Bjerke doesn't play him.  Interestingly, the author instead plays the character who is consistently against rationalism and on the side of instinct and the supernatural.  So what's the story here?

Liljan Werner (Henny Moan) gathers her friends together to take a train trip.  She's worried because her brother Bjørn (Per Lillo-Stenberg) , whom they all know and with whom Liljan is very close, has purchased a remote cabin in the woods (uh oh!) and has not been in contact with her for days.  The cabin (more like a house) has a bad history attached to it and there are legends of a one-legged ghost (with a wooden leg) and whomever stays in the house never returns.  The ghost is of a man named Tore Gruvik who, over 100 years ago, built the house in the woods next to Blue Lake.  He was a one-legged giant of a man who was surly to everyone except his sister; whom he had an 'unhealthy' attachment to.  When this sister fell in love with a local man, Gruvik killed them both and then, in a fit of madness, through himself in the bottomless lake. 

Since then, his apparition has been seen; even ghostly footprints of one shoe and one peg leg have been found in the woods and around the lake.  And people staying in the house have a habit of disappearing.  The lake has since gained the nickname 'Lake of the Dead'.  Bjørn is up there hunting alone with only his hunting dog and Liljan is understandably concerned.  The group consists of Liljan and her fiancee Harald Gran (Georg Richter), slightly cowardly Bernhard Borge (Henki Kolstad) and his capable wife Sonja (Bjørg Engh), logical-minded  psychoanalyst Kai Bugge (Erling Lindahl),  and champion of the supernatural Gabriel Mørk (author André Bjerke himself).  Bugge and Mørk are good friends but battle constantly over the rational and supernatural.  When the group finally get to the remote cabin, there is no sign of Bjørn Werner or his dog.  The group seeks the help of Braten, the constable in the nearby town, who accompanies them to the scene.  They eventually find Werner's dog dead by the side of the lake; shot in the head.  Nearby is Bjorn's shotgun and some footprints leading into the lake . . . and not coming back out.  Has the deadly influence of Tore Gruvik claimed another victim?

LAKE OF THE DEAD (a.k.a.  De dødes tjern) is beautifully shot in chiaroscuro black & white by DP Ragnar Sørensen which gives the film loads and loads of moody atmosphere.  The forest location and the lake itself are suitably gloomy and shot in a creepy fashion to lend a sense of unease to the location.  The script, as I said, remains fairly close to the novel with some excisions that were necessary for time and do not feel missed by this viewer.  Besides the jettisoning of Bernhard Borge as the central POV character, the film also jettisions a sidebar about a screaming lunatic who escaped from the nearby town's insane asylum and who may be roaming the woods in the area.  The legend of ole Tore and his creepy cabin and ghostly apparition are more vividly captured in the book but the film does a nice job evoking the menace of the old ghoul.  Director Bergstrom also provides some good scares throughout.  As I said at the top, Norway wasn't known for it's horror literature so the book (and the film) are not full-fledged horror but, I think, do count as horror-infused.  While not wanting to look a gift-horse in the mouth, I'm a little puzzled why the film was included in the folk horror box set ALL THE HAUNTS BE OURS but I'm thrilled it was.  The film is a mystery-horror-thriller but I don't really see the folk horror angle to it.  Other than it deals with a 100+ year old ghost story/legend.  Perhaps that's enough.  It's certainly enough for me.  This was a wonderful watch; especially after reading the novel!  I wouldn't have missed it for a dip in a bottomless, haunted lake!