Neverlake

Neverlake has some interesting themes going for it. It takes place in Italy where a lake really exists that was once used by people in history in a mythically healing way. I won’t ruin the surprise, but the myth is used in the film as an interesting plot device. 

 

You also have the obvious Peter Pan link that plays out somewhat, but for the most part the film attempts to creep you out with very vague sequences. Take for example, Jenny (our heroine) visits her estranged father in Italy and he acts peculiar for a majority of the film. Does he have something to hide or is he genuinely just disconnected from his daughter? A theory that kind of makes sense. 

 

Unfortunately director Riccardo Paoletti uses the father’s awkwardness as a major plot device that deviates the other goings on in the film and stagnates the flow of the films story. I felt like, with so little information to make any kind of definitive guess about her father, I just lost interest in that particular plot and kind of hoped to see something better from the other plots. Not so much. 

 

By the end of the film I felt like I had figured out the mystery about fifteen minutes before the reveal. When it happened I just kind of shrugged. Fortunately there is a bit more to the film then just the main plot reveal that impressed me slightly. Again, the film doesn’t really manage flow control and by the time the film ends it seems like a non-event. It did to me at least. Still, in a rainy day kind of way Neverlake could be worth a view.