Lake of the Dead, Ghosts Norwegian Style

Other than the classic horror film "The Snow Bunny Massacre," our feature today may be the best horror film ever to come out of Norway.  Ghosts, possession, and deviant family dynamics play havoc with our minds in 1958's "Lake of the Dead," directed by Kare Bergstrom.  Pretty Norwegian babes in much peril and the hunks trying to save them is offered up in a more refined manner than in the aforementioned "The Snow Bunny Massacre."

Six great-looking Norwegians head into the wilderness for a few days of R&R.  Bernhard (Henki Kolstad) is a writer with a babe wife, Sonja (Bjorg Engh).  Also along for the vacation is nubile babe Lillian (Henny Moan) and her shrink Bugge (Erling Lindahl).  I know, when a babe is bringing her shrink along on a vacation, this may be a warning sign.  Uh oh, they reach a 100 year old cabin by a haunted lake.  Every August 23rd, a horrific scream emanates from the lake.  100 years ago, Gravik (Leif Sommerstad), a one-legged woodsman, took an axe to his sister and her lover.  Uh oh, again...when the crew gets to the cabin, Lillian's brother Bjorn (Per Lillo-Stenberg) is missing...and Lillian senses he's dead.  Apparently, Lillian and Bjorn have always shared a psychic connection.  The lake seems menacing, giving everyone bad vibes, except for Sonja who seems to relish swimming in it...there's always one.

As the crew waits for Bjorn, who may not be dead, weird stuff begins to happen.  Bjorn's diary is found and seems to suggest his sanity was going down the drain.  Then the caretaker, Braten (Oylind Oyen) tells everyone the bloody backstory of the cabin and about the murders.  Even worse, August 23 is tomorrow and Gravik's ghost is supposed to scream and reappear.  Now Lillian seems entranced and has to be restrained as she tries to throw herself into the lake.  People begin dying and all indications are that Gravik is back hunting for Norwegians.  Bugge and Bernhard try to unravel the mystery in order to save Lillian but the damsel appears too far gone.  Much bickering ensues until...well, you'll see.

Will Lillian suffer the same fate as Gravik's sister suffered at the hands of his axe?  Is Bjorn dead?  Will Norway be part of Russia when the sequel to this film is made?  To see what scares Norway, this is the film you will want to see.  Ghosts, possession, and talkative Scandinavians will explode at you from the silver screen when you see "Lake of the Dead."