De dødes tjern aka Lake of the Dead (1958)

  

Old school Norwegian horror.

De dødes tjern opens with a shot of the lake accompanied by Gunnar Sønstevold’s haunting score. A couple of lines from Ibsen are uttered. Cut to crime writer Bernhard Borge praising his own ingenuity. He is pulled back into reality by his wife Sonja for ripping off the great Norwegian writer to use in his simple crime story. Their bickering is loving and honest. Wasting no time, Bernhard proceeds to tell how the story begins; six friends a late summer day. They’re on a train on their way to cabin in the woods. Everyone is happy jokes are thrown left and right. The friends are supposed to meet Bjørn at the cabin, but he hasn’t been heard from for some time. Lillian, Bjørn’s sister, says she senses he’s in danger. They arrive and a scared Bernhard is pushed into the abandoned cabin by his wife. Henki Kolstad, playing Bernhard, is a joy to behold. He pulls out one witty remark after another and it’s great to see a male main character being so constantly scared. My favorite lines in the movie come when Bernard suddenly sees his wife in a tasteful one-piece swimming outfit and exclaims in shock: “No! Look at that! What are you doing? Are you an exhibitionist? No, common decency sure isn’t what it used to be! Or when he proclaims: “Half a pint isn’t a beer!” Try not smile. I dare you.

As the movie progresses we learn about the legend of lake Blue and strange things start happening. It isn’t exactly a groundbreaking story, but it is done in such a way it’s hard not to like.

The acting feels a bit theatrical, but I’m not sure if it is really the case. Norwegians have a rumor for being somewhat stiff and whether or not this is how we behaved in the fifties I dare not say. The lake works great as a location. It doesn’t appear scary when casting a glance, but there is something about it, almost hypnotizing. The lake drags as our curious characters soon discover. I wasn’t really expecting much from the cinematography, but it frequently proved to be a real treat. It uses crooked angles to great effect and especially one scene where the camera moves forward towards the lake, pushing branches away had me nodding in approval. It even has an underwater shot! There are some exceptional scenes in De dødes tjern. The light of the lake reflecting on the people while a moody harp plays, gives the film an effectively eerie tone. Or one scene in particular, where Lillian is sleepwalking towards the lake echoes the Val Lewton productions of the 40s. It reminds me of just how effective the less-is-more approach can be. The talk about psychoanalysis may seem dated or a bit too explanatory to us in this day and age, but I really didn’t mind.

 Hauntingly beautiful.

I need to stress how big a part the humor plays and how well it works. There is almost at any given time a joke or a funny line around the corner, without it feeling overwhelming. It’s refreshingly free of the banalities we’ve come to expect from modern films. Some are likely to find the humor too naïve, but I don’t doubt its sincerity. It’s supposed to be dry. Standing in opposition to this is suspense and some genuinely scary scenes.

Another thing I noted was one of the characters wearing a formal shirt and tie. Again, I’m not sure how strict we were in Norway in the 50s, but I’m guessing wearing an outfit like that wasn’t a regular thing when going camping. As for the ending, without revealing too much, it might irritate some, in how it wraps everything into a neat little package. Or does it?

At the modest running time of just under 74 minutes, De dødes tjern never outstays its welcome. If anything it could have been longer. The story compels, the characters are interesting, the humor warm and the scares genuine. De dødes tjern has finally been released on DVD in Norway with the option for English subtitles. I urge horror fans to seek this treasure out and give it the attention it sorely deserves. It’s the finest horror film to come out of Norway.

9/10