Neverlake (2013)

On a trip home to Italy to visit her father, Jenny is thrown into a world of mystery, horror and legend as she is compelled to discover the truth behind all his secrets and lies.

Director:

Riccardo Paoletti

Writers:

Manuela Cacciamani (story), Carlo Longo (screenplay)

Stars:

Daisy Keeping, David Brandon, Joy Tanner

Cast

Credited cast:
Daisy Keeping	...	Jenny Brooks (as Daisy Ann Keeping)
David Brandon	...	Mr. Brooks
Joy Tanner	...	Olga (as Joy Allison Tanner)
Martin Kashirokov	...	Peter
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Lisa Ruth Andreozzi	...	Aurora
Alice Belardi	...	Policewoman
Riccardo Bono	...	Male Nurse
Claudio Ciabatti	...	Policeman
Anna Dalton	...	Maya
Davide Frondaroli	...	Policeman
Dianne Lynn Jones	...	Jenny's Mother
Uberto Kovacevich	...	Sabelli
Elia Longo	...	Etruscan Child Sethre
Eva MacCallum	...	Malila
Pierangelo Menci	...	Bus Guy

Storyline

When Jenny, an American teenager visits her father's home in Italy she expected it to be a time to see the world and bond with her father. She soon discovers that this is far from reality. When Jenny visits the Neverlake, a lake that legend calls "The Lake of Idols" for its healing powers in ancient times, Jenny meets a peculiar group of children. As she digs further into the mystery of these missing children and their leader Peter, Jenny discovers a world of horrific medical experiments, secrets and lies. When Jenny is called upon by three thousand year old spirits of the Neverlake to help them retrieve ancient artifacts stolen from the lake she comes face to face with her greatest pain and possibly her greatest pleasure.

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Plot Keywords:

folk horror | etruscan mythology | lake | medical experiment | backwood slasher | 

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Taglines:

Death Lies Beneath

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Genres:

Drama | Horror | Mystery

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The film's subject lake, located near the Village of Stia (Tuscany) Italy, has some historical basis: "Located south of Mount Falterona, the small Lake of the Idols is the most interesting archaeological site in the Casentino. Very important artefacts from the cult of the Etruscans have been found here including many votive offerings, hence the site being called the "Lake of the Idols". Hundreds of bronzes have also been recovered, some of which are now preserved in the British Museum in London and the Louvre in Paris." - Source: italythisway.com.

User Reviews

Poetry, mythology, archaeology and … illegal surgery

"Neverlake" isn't necessarily a great horror movie, but one thing's undeniable: the plot contains more than enough potentially strong ideas to fill at least three movies! I almost overlooked this film because it looks so mundane and derivative, but then I discovered that it's Italian (my favorite country for horror movies) and that it stars David Brandon (semi-successful lead actor of "Stagefright", "Delirium: Photos of Gioia" and "Caligola: The Untold Story"). The film is reasonably well-made, but the script is too ambitious and director Riccardo Paoletti makes the rookie mistake that he desperately attempts to uphold the various mysteries for far too long. It's complex, with a lot of references towards Tuscan culture and particularly the Etruscan civilization, but also supernatural themes and mad surgeon twists. Gorgeous young teenager Jenny Brooks visits her father in his birth region of Tuscany, Italy, for the very first time since her mother died. Her father used to be an acclaimed doctor but now he's into archaeology and researching the nearby Etruscan Lake of Idols. Jenny was hoping to visit the beautiful region, but her father is always locked up in his study room or away on business, so she sets out exploring herself and meets a group of disabled children in a ramshackle hospital. Riccardo Paoletti builds up a lot of tension and mystery, but why, in fact? From the very first moment that Jenny's father walks into the screen, it's abundantly clear that he's malicious and unreliable. The atmosphere in "Neverlake" is admirably ominous and spooky and the filming locations and set pieces are often astounding, but the film could have used a better pacing and more frequent bloodshed. The finale, however, is terrific and reminiscent of the good old- fashioned Gothic Italian horrors of the fifties and sixties. The acting performances are quite good as well. Daisy Keeping looks like a slightly young version of Danielle Harris, which is always an example if you want to make it in the horror industry, and is even credible as the clever young girl who's a fan of Gothic poetry (Percy Shelley, Edgar Allen Poe, etc…)

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

Italy

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 2014 (Germany)

Also Known As:

Neverlake

Filming Locations:

Arezzo, Tuscany, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

One More Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min (original)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color