Lake Mungo combines grief, hidden lives, and the need for closure in a story that melds mystery, drama, documentary, and a dash of Blair Witch Project-style ghost tale. A family in a small town loses sixteen-year-old Alice in an accidental drowning. Though the police investigation is officially closed, the family in its need to learn the truth of her death continue searching for clues. They turn to a parapsychologist when strange things start happening in the home, and soon learn of Alice’s double life and dark secrets. Joel Anderson’s assured debut features an innovative construction that wraps substantial themes of a community ill at ease and a family trying to deal with the loss of a child inside a crowd-pleasing format. John Brawley’s vivid cinematography enhances an unfocused eeriness that slowly reveals the enigmas at the story’s core.