It's surprising that more horror films don't come from the land down under considering what a scary place it must be to live. It is, after all, home to funnel-web wotsits, nasty jellyfish and Dame Edna Everage.

This film, made in 2008, was the debut for director Joel Anderson and follows in the eerie footsteps of the horror mockumentary style.

Sixteen year-old Alice (Talia Zucker) tragically drowns whilst swimming in the dam at Lake Mungo. The cause of death is stated as accidental. Her family think nothing more of it until they start to hear peculiar sounds around their home, including the slamming of Alice's door, ten days after her funeral.

Her mother starts to think that there's more to her daughter's death than first meets the eye, so she contacts psychic and parapsychologist Ray Kemeny (Steve Jodrell). Ray performs a séance, that Alice's brother Mathew (Martin Sharpe) records with his video camera. Although nothing happens during the séance, playing the tape back reveals something that none of the saw in the room.

With more investigating from the family, they discover that there are plenty more dark secrets yet to surface regarding their daughter.

It was awful, truly awful, I've never seen anything like it. Needless to say I have a new agent now.

It's difficult to understand why Anderson decided to go the mockumentary route with this film, as it adds absolutely nothing to the story in any shape or form. And considering that The Blair Witch Project nailed the style nearly ten years previous to this one, it's not exactly a fresh or appealing approach.

He sets up the initial premise well enough – that of Alice's death – but it quickly goes off the boil soon after. To describe this film as a horror should be a breach of the Trades Description act. It would be hard pushed to call it a thriller too as it's also devoid of any thrills.

What's left then is a dire attempt at something that so wants to have the look of a real documentary, but one that features the most boring footage of the dullest family you could ever care to meet.

Considering that Anderson also wrote this gibberish, it's no real surprise that he hasn't written or directed anything else since.

In fact the only real surprise is that there may well be a US version of this film on the way. And considering the poor quality of most US remakes of foreign horror titles, Lake Mungo's future look very murky and unappealing indeed, so best save your selves and stay away from its murky and depressing waters.