# Bone Lake (film)
**Bone Lake** is a 2024 American erotic thriller directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan and written by Joshua Friedlander, in which a couple's lakeside holiday takes a dark turn when a double-booked rental forces them to share a mansion with a mysterious pair.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/bone-lake-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmymtq5) It stars [Maddie Hasson](https://www.edgepedia.org/maddie-hasson), Marco Pigossi, Alex Roe, and Andra Nechita, runs 94 minutes, and was released theatrically in the United States on October 3, 2025 by Bleecker Street.[2](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/bone-lake-review/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director / writer | Mercedes Bryce Morgan; screenplay by Joshua Friedlander[2](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/bone-lake-review/) |
| Cast | Maddie Hasson (Sage), Marco Pigossi (Diego), Alex Roe (Will), Andra Nechita (Cin)[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/bone-lake-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmymtq5) |
| Runtime and rating | 94 minutes; rated R for strong bloody violence, grisly images, sexual content, graphic nudity, language throughout and some drug use[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-10-03/bone-lake-review-mercedes-bryce-morgan-horror) |
| Festivals | Official selection of Fantastic Fest 2024; FrightFest screening August 24, 2025[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26783625/releaseinfo/) |
| Award | Bronze Audience award at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival[5](https://tambourine-moose-ptc4.squarespace.com/articles/the-director-and-cast-give-us-a-tour-of-bone-lake-interview) |
| Release | Theatrical October 3, 2025 (Bleecker Street); US Netflix streaming from January 15, 2026[2](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/bone-lake-review/) • [6](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/7-new-horror-movies-on-prime-video-shudder-hbo-max-and-more-in-january-2026) |
| Critical scores | Metascore 63 (generally favorable); 84% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 99 reviews[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bone-lake/critic-reviews/) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bone_lake) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and premise
Sage (Maddie Hasson) and Diego (Marco Pigossi) arrive at a secluded lakeside estate for a weekend meant to repair their strained relationship. Sage, a freelance journalist, is preparing to become the breadwinner while Diego quits his job to write an erotic novel, a shift that has soured their intimacy. Their rental has been double-booked, and with no other lodging nearby they must share the mansion with Will ([Alex Roe](https://www.edgepedia.org/alex-roe)) and Cin (Andra Nechita), a younger, more flirtatious couple.[9](https://www.inverse.com/bone-lake-review)
The newcomers first act as confidants, coaching the couple through their problems, then begin an active campaign of seduction and psychological manipulation, testing Sage and Diego's bond with [mind games](https://www.edgepedia.org/mind-games) and lies. The film's title refers to a local legend recounted in the story: the lake is supposedly named for the human remains a serial killer dumped in its water.[10](https://culturecrypt.com/movie-reviews/bone-lake-2024) The weekend eventually escalates into a bloody battle for survival as the visiting couple's secrets come to light.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bone_lake)
## Style and structure
The film opens with a jarring set piece: a naked couple running through the woods from a crossbow-wielding hunter, ending with an arrow striking the man in the testicles and the woman impaling herself on a log. It closes with a gore-heavy climax, and both bookends are set to "Sex and Violence" by the British punk band the Exploited.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-10-03/bone-lake-review-mercedes-bryce-morgan-horror) • [9](https://www.inverse.com/bone-lake-review) Between these extremes, the film spends most of its runtime as a character-led psychological thriller before shifting into what one review calls an all-out grindhouse final reel.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bone_lake)
Reviewers place the film in a lineage of vacation-gone-wrong horror. The double-booking setup invites comparison to *[Barbarian](https://www.edgepedia.org/barbarian-2022-film)* (2022) and the Danish-Dutch film *Speak No Evil* (2022), while the psychosexual cat-and-mouse between two couples recalls *Funny Games* and the erotic thrillers of the 1980s and 1990s.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-10-03/bone-lake-review-mercedes-bryce-morgan-horror) • [11](https://reactormag.com/bone-lake-movies-define-erotic-horror-genre/) Cinematographer Nick Matthews gives the location a saturated color palette, though some scenes are deliberately underlit during a storm-induced power cut.[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-10-03/bone-lake-review-mercedes-bryce-morgan-horror)
## Production
Morgan, a USC-trained filmmaker whose earlier features include *Fixation* and *Spoonful of Sugar*, received Friedlander's script on a Friday, read it in one sitting, and was shooting roughly two and a half months later, the fastest a film of hers had come together. *Bone Lake* is her first feature to reach theaters.[12](https://pastpresentfeature.com/mercedes-bryce-morgan-bone-lake-interview/) In interviews she has described the film as a fun popcorn movie, erotic and twisty, with a proudly commercial heart.[12](https://pastpresentfeature.com/mercedes-bryce-morgan-bone-lake-interview/)
The film premiered at [Fantastic Fest](https://www.edgepedia.org/fantastic-fest) 2024 and screened at FrightFest on August 24, 2025, and it picked up the Bronze Audience award at that year's Brooklyn Horror Film Festival.[4](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26783625/releaseinfo/) • [5](https://tambourine-moose-ptc4.squarespace.com/articles/the-director-and-cast-give-us-a-tour-of-bone-lake-interview) The British Board of Film Classification passed the film for UK VOD release on August 19, 2025, with Signature Entertainment as distributor.[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/bone-lake-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmymtq5)
## Reception
Critical response was generally favorable. On Metacritic the film scored 63 based on 10 critic reviews, with 7 positive, 2 mixed, and 1 negative; on Rotten Tomatoes it holds 84% from 99 critics, against a 60% audience score.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bone-lake/critic-reviews/) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bone_lake) The Guardian's Catherine Bray gave it 4 out of 5, noting that the filmmakers visibly enjoyed themselves; RogerEbert.com called it "a fun, messed-up horror thriller" playing on modern anxieties of love, sex, and double-booked rentals.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bone-lake/critic-reviews/)
Dissenting reviews targeted the script and the finale. The *Los Angeles Times* found the [Grand Guignol](https://www.edgepedia.org/grand-guignol) climax rhythmless and the performances broad, concluding the film was "too shallow to get you immersed";[3](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-10-03/bone-lake-review-mercedes-bryce-morgan-horror) the *Chicago Tribune* and *Slant Magazine* were harsher, and the *New York Times* judged the film too tame for its own edgy ambitions.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bone-lake/critic-reviews/) Several critics and viewers noted a gap between the salacious marketing and the film's actual content, with some expecting a slasher and receiving an erotic thriller instead.[13](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/netflix-just-got-one-of-2025s-most-chilling-dark-thriller-movies-and-i-bet-you-cant-guess-the-twist)
After its theatrical run, *Bone Lake* began streaming on Netflix in the United States on January 15, 2026, and became available for rent or purchase on Fandango.[6](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/7-new-horror-movies-on-prime-video-shudder-hbo-max-and-more-in-january-2026) • [8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bone_lake)
## References
1. [Bone Lake, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/bone-lake-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdmymtq5)
2. [Bone Lake Review: A Matter of FetLife and Death, Slant Magazine](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/bone-lake-review/)
3. [Two couples clash in a double-booked vacation home in 'Bone Lake', Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2025-10-03/bone-lake-review-mercedes-bryce-morgan-horror)
4. [Bone Lake (2024) Release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26783625/releaseinfo/)
5. [The Director And Cast Give Us A Tour Of "BONE LAKE" (Interview), Macabre Daily](https://tambourine-moose-ptc4.squarespace.com/articles/the-director-and-cast-give-us-a-tour-of-bone-lake-interview)
6. [7 new horror movies on Prime Video, Shudder, HBO Max, and more in January 2026, TechRadar](https://www.techradar.com/streaming/7-new-horror-movies-on-prime-video-shudder-hbo-max-and-more-in-january-2026)
7. [Bone Lake critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/bone-lake/critic-reviews/)
8. [Bone Lake, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bone_lake)
9. ['Bone Lake' Review: A Self-Aware, Sexy, Yet Superficial Horror-Thriller, Inverse](https://www.inverse.com/bone-lake-review)
10. [BONE LAKE (2024), Culture Crypt](https://culturecrypt.com/movie-reviews/bone-lake-2024)
11. [Bone Lake and the Movies That Define the Erotic Horror Genre, Reactor](https://reactormag.com/bone-lake-movies-define-erotic-horror-genre/)
12. [Mercedes Bryce Morgan on Bone Lake and the Perfect Twist, Past Present Feature](https://pastpresentfeature.com/mercedes-bryce-morgan-bone-lake-interview/)
13. [Netflix just got one of 2025's most chilling dark thriller movies, Tom's Guide](https://www.tomsguide.com/entertainment/netflix/netflix-just-got-one-of-2025s-most-chilling-dark-thriller-movies-and-i-bet-you-cant-guess-the-twist)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Crime, thriller, and mystery films (individual works) › 2015–2019 films › Thriller and mystery films › Titles symbols to E*
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