Sean Parker
I don’t know about anyone else, but I think we need a subgenre label for the growing number of paranormal documentary films. They’re branded as straight documentaries, but I think this is doing them a disservice. My first introduction to these films was during Covid, when the Kane Hodder led Balsam: A Paranormal Investigation was released. The film explored a historic North Carolinian hotel, providing backstory on the area and insight from area residents, historians, and eventually paranormal investigators. Entering the film later as a skeptic, Hodder joins the group, and they inevitably investigate the hotel themselves using supernatural detection devices. While I wasn’t expecting it to make an impression, it most certainly did. And I felt a kindred spirit in Balsam while watching The Lady of the Lake.
Director Ryan Grulich brings the audience to Port Angeles, Washington, where a nearly century-old crime has transformed into a local legend. Dozens claim to have seen a woman resembling Hallie Illingworth in or around Lake Crescent. Some have seen her silhouette in the fog or standing on the lake. Others have claimed she’s stood fifty feet away from them, but no matter how hard they tried, they could never get any closer. The entity continued to stay at the approximate distance no matter how they approached. These accounts of the phenomenon are chilling as Grulich begins to spin the story back to 1940 when two fishermen caught sight of Hallie’s hand, raised out of the water as if asking to be recovered and starting the mystery of The Lady of the Lake.
Like Balsam, the history and accounts feed the viewer’s intoxication with the paranormal events surrounding the Lake Crescent area. Paranormal researcher and medium Amanda Paulson acts as the film’s narrating presence, steering viewers through the events of the past with the help of historian Eric Kosick, the case’s medical examiner Harlan McNutt, and retired homicide detective Cloyd Steiger. Their collaborative insights into The Lady of the Lake mystery infuse the documentary portion of the film with macabre details that keep viewers locked in to learn more as the film takes another step back to tell us about the events leading to Hallie’s fateful end.
Grulich does a decent job of keeping the film focused by grouping the events into easily digestible pieces in an overall three-act structure, and the film’s immersive cinematography helps breathe life into a truly grisly story and keeps atmosphere and tension at the forefront of the film. It begins with Hallie’s story, then pivots into the mysterious area of Olympic National Park, where additional crimes are detailed, the unusual depth of the lake is discussed, and robust accounts from locals are deciphered and broken down by the like of Port Angeles Paranormal News managing editor Adam Gross, True Crime & Chill Podcast host Amber Hasenpflug, and Euphomet podcast host Jim Perry.
Finally, the third act of The Lady of the Lake lets Paulson get spooky, donning a blindfold and noise-canceling headphones while plugged into a spirit box to engage in the Estes method of paranormal investigation. This technique has been used many times, including in the aforementioned Balsam, but there are variations in the results. Some say it helps mute the natural world and allows a medium to focus on the voices coming from the spiritual world. Still, others believe radio interference, bias, and knowledge can influence what is heard. I guess it all depends on whether or not you believe in ghosts or disembodied spirits.
After the final act of The Lady of the Lake, I was slightly underwhelmed. While all the history and research lead Paulson to conduct her paranormal investigation, capturing it seems surprisingly limited. While Paulson’s words are stirring, there’s reduced atmosphere as Grulich opts for silence over Kevin Gamble’s affecting score or a feed from the spirit box. Silence can be an effective tool for horror, but the absence of sound is profoundly deafening.
Furthermore, I keep mentioning Balsam, but I genuinely believe there is something to exploring the antagonistic side of paranormal investigations. Hodder goes into the hotel a skeptic and, through the collaborative effort, becomes convinced that some type of energy exists that he doesn’t fully understand. He also describes the effect of those events in a way that provides the viewer with something to consider. Unfortunately, this seems to be missing from The Lady of the Lake.
Though Paulson’s approach appears clinical (I’m sure she’s done a hundred of these things), it all ends on a bit of a lackluster note. There was never an expectation for the film to make some bold claim or provide any definitive answers. Yet, after an evenly maintained hour of true crime and supernatural exploration, there is a curious expectation of something more. Grulich aptly designs the beats of the film, and for the most part, he’s quite good at maintaining the pace and aesthetic.
Overall, The Lady of the Lake is a decent paranormal documentary (I’m sticking with it). It’s worth watching if you’re intrigued by true crime and the lore of regional ghost stories. These parts of the film are supremely well done, though I wish more firsthand accounts had been tapped to provide their encounters with The Lady of the Lake. Mainly because some of them are proper nightmare fuel. However, Between the interviews, scenery, and reenactments, there is some filler The Lady of the Lake can cut, but there’s also beauty in the visual romanticism of this haunted space.
The Lady of the Lake is now available on PVOD.
THE LADY OF THE LAKE | Official Trailer | True Crime Documentary
On Digital and On Demand December 17 The Lady of the Lake follows investigator Amanda Paulson and her team as they delve into the chilling case of Hallie Illingworth, a local woman who disappeared in 1937 and was found three years later in Lake Crescent under disturbing circumstances.
