Official synopsis: In the Pacific Northwest, a crew investigates the mysterious legend of a deep lake where the cold and stillness claim lives and keep secrets. But as they delve deeper, they uncover a horrifying truth about the lake’s dark past and the fate of those who enter its depths.
Writer/director Ryan Grulich’s documentary The Lady of the Lake is a bit of an odd bird. It combines true crime investigation with ghost hunting. That mash-up in and of itself may not be all that unusual — more on it later — but the film also feels like it focuses more on, or at least as much as, paranormal investigator Amanda D. Paulson than on its titular subject, 1937 murder victim Hallie Illingworth.
Grulich does a nice job of bringing Illingworth’s tragic story to viewers who may be unfamiliar with it and of helping keep her memory alive. He tells her story from her early years to her murder, to the unusual discovery of her body in Lake Crescent, located in the Pacific Northwest’s Port Angeles, Washington, to the trial of her suspected murderer, to — and this is where The Lady of the Lake will begin to divide audiences — her alleged ghostly appearances in and around the area of her murder.
The legend of her haunting is a long-told tale with which Lake Crescent residents are well familiar. Grulic, with Paulson’s help, uses a ghost-hunting device to try to contact Illingworth’s supposedly restless spirit. This is when the woo woo factor kicks into high gear, and viewers expecting a straight true-crime account of the murder and trial are likely to be disappointed.
Paulson, who is described on her website https://www.prettyfnspooky.com/ as “a paranormal investigator, researcher and medium based in the Inland Pacific Northwest . . . [who] started her social media and blog, Pretty Fn Spooky, in March 2019,” provides some interesting insight into the proceedings — such as drawing parallels to her life and that of Illingworth — but on occasion the film feels like it is devoting about as much time to her as it is to Illingworth. At a running time of 94 minutes, the documentary often feels padded out, including repeated scenes of Illingworth’s spirit (as portrayed by an actor) dancing. I understand the symbolism with the latter, but it feels repetitive.
Overall, The Lady of the Lake is likely to appeal most strongly to people interested in both true crime and the paranormal. Viewers skeptical about Earthbound spirits and who were hoping for a full hour-and-a-half of true crime focus are bound to feel less content.
Uncork’d Entertainment presents The Lady of the Lake On Digital from December 17, 2024.
