Norwegian horror film in black and white scope
LAKE OF THE DEAD
Kåre Bergstrøm, Norway 1958

De dødes tjern. Regi: Kåre Bergstrøm, Norway, 1958. Manus: André Bjerke, based on his own novel. Foto: Ragnar Sørensen. Musikk: Gunnar Sønstevold. Medv: Henki Kolstad, Henny Moan, Bjørg Engh, Georg Richter, André Bjerke among others. Norwegian language, English subtitles. 35mm, b/w, 1 h 16 min.

Lake of the Dead
Six people travel from Oslo to a forest fringed village in Østerdalen to visit a friend in his newly purchased cabin situated deep in the woods. A lake nearby is known for it’s gruesome legacy: A man once murdered his sister and her lover, then drowned himself in the lake. A saying warns that anyone who resides at the old scene of the crime – the murderer’s cabin – will become possessed by a strange force: They must drown themselves in the lake.

When the travellers arrive at the cabin they find their friend missing. Later they discover the body of his dog by the lake – a horrific indication that he has fallen prey to the old curse.

Lake of the Dead emerged as a successful surprise in the Norwegian film industry in the 1950s, an era marked by regression due to serious economic struggle. In 1958 the debt of the industry was finally paid off and the possibilities for new productions laid bare. The choice to adapt Andre Bjerke’s novel "Lake of the Dead" was a smart move. His novel was well known and popular among the Norwegian people, whose experience with horror material until now had been pretty sparse. The Lake of the Dead was also the first Norwegian film made in scope and the director and photographer were commended for their terrific mastery of this new technique.

red./olep - translation by Ingrid Moe