In several ways, the first hour of “Bone Lake” plays like one of those steamy thrillers that frequented late-night cable television in the late 80s and early 90s. It works hard to be seductive, even veering towards trashy on occasions. And it attempts to give its story a sharp psychological edge. But neither the pseudo-eroticism or the overly familiar mind games can make this genre flick crackle the way it clearly wants and desperately needs to.

Directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan, “Bone Lake” seems to have a clear vision of what it wants to be yet it never fully commits to it. Though never boring, much of it feels like reheated material from other features. It isn’t until the last fifteen minutes that the movie lets its proverbial hair down. Its big crazy finish wraps things up with a devilishly gory payoff that really doesn’t make much sense but is a lot of fun nonetheless.

Diego (Marco Pigossi) and Sage (Maddie Hasson) are a seemingly happy couple who book a weekend getaway at a lavish lakeside estate. A nervous but excited Diego plans on asking Sage to marry him. But Sage clearly has some buried reservations about their relationship which comes more into play as the story moves forward. But things really get complicated with the sudden and unexpected arrival of a second couple.

Diego and Sage are surprised by the arrival of Will (Alex Roe) and Cin (Andra Nechita). “It’s short for Cinnamon,” she’s quick to clarify. The latter couple reveal they too have booked the place for the weekend which leads to a table-setting conundrum. With both couples unable to reach the property owner and with the nearest hotel some 50-plus miles away, they make the ill-fated decision to share the place for the night. Bad idea.

From there it doesn’t take long for one of the movie’s more noticeable flaws to surface. “Bone Lake” makes the mistake of tipping its hand too early and openly. Simply put, Will and Cin are too transparent from the start. In no time they are openly flirting, planting lies, and manipulating Diego and Sage in ways that can be frustrating to watch. It’s one of those cases where most of the issues could easily be solved with the slightest bit of communication. Unfortunately…

Diego and Sage only make their situation worse through their maddening choices which move the plot to where it needs to go but leaves them looking like buffoons in the process. Such as Sage taking off and driving into town with the flirty Will while Diego stays behind in the house with the seductive Cin. What could possible go wrong? And when our protagonists finally have the conversations they should have had much earlier, it’s too late (of course).

Again, the movie does finish with an entertaining blood-drenched final 20 minutes that almost makes it worth the journey to get to it. But outside of that, “Bone Lake” tells an familiar story patched together with ideas from more recent films like “Barbarian” to earlier movies like Michael Haneke’s “Funny Games”. The performances are serviceable and the gore is a blast (minus a pointlessly graphic opening sequence). But the film never goes as bonkers as it needs to, leaving us with little more than a tame and trite time-passer. “Bone Lake” opens in theaters October 3rd.

VERDICT – 2.5 STARS