myspecialparadise Did I say this was a sick film? Well, upgrading that opinion to total demented ... and that comes from a person that know the full definition of both those words! It takes a little while to catch on to what the writer has done ... but, the real tangible proof occurs in a graveyard ... but surprise turns into disgust once you witness the madness! And the deeper you go, the sicker this movie gets! And when you reach the final secret ... you want to slap the writer's face ... at least I did! This is a writer I never want to meet ... or even discover his/her name.Okay ... the writer did a great job of bringing out the viewers worse moments, worse emotions, and that means the writer did exactly as planned. However ..... raping one of the world's greatest children's story is a pretty sick way of accomplishing his/her aims! The acting is quite good ... each actor accomplished their role with adequate precision! The talents in this film are quite remarkable ... except when it comes to the part of Olga ... nothing surprising there, her story was obvious from start to finish. Poor scripting? Possibly. But it could also be poor casting! She does come to fruition by the time the movie is in its final lap of the race ... unfortunately, she just isn't a thoroughbred ... not in this film anyway. The part of the father was played well ... but his part in this film was all too obvious! The ones that took their roles and ran away with it ... in other words, those that stole the film ... were the children, which includes the star role of Jenny! The bottom line ... the children made this film watchable ... but the story, itself, was totally demented! I will say this ... this is the first film I have reviewed that has said what needed to be said, without giving away any actual part, or plot, of the movie! Should you watch the movie? I think so ... but expect a whole lot of emotions to come pouring out of your mind!

rachlizbeth-45143 I was initially very excited about this movie. Perhaps it's just the English Major side of me, but I was thrilled by the prospect of a possible eclectic horror film based off of Shelley's poem "The Sensitive Plant." While the movie started off well, I was gravely disappointed by the end. There's enough mystery throughout the beginning of the film to keep you going right till the very end, if only just to know what exactly is going on in this creepy Italian lake. I was impressed with the creep factor without the cheap jump scares and such, and I was intrigued by the possible plot line that was kept just out of reach.However, Jenny's father being a psychotic murderer/rapist who was harvesting the organs of his children (children he raped Jenny's mother - who is locked up in a hospital - to conceive), was most definitely not the twist I was expecting. Not to mention the fact that none of this meshes with the mythological spirits of these Etruscan Idols. There were so many cultural references in this movie! There was the story of the Etruscans and the supernatural power of the lake. Great! Poetry references out the wazoo. Awesome, good to have a horror film with classic literature! Then there was the possible overkill of Peter Pan parallels, which no one else seems to mention in the reviews: the name of the movie is Neverlake, much like Neverland; a group of "orphan" children led by a mysterious boy named Peter who has even more mysterious powers; she READS them Peter Pan; her mother's last name is Darling, for crying out loud! Anyway, all of this led me to believe the ending would be a smorgasbord of historical and cultural allusions. But no. There's just some creepy doctor who somehow got away with fathering and killing five children to keep his firstborn alive. Nothing really fit together. This movie had such potential to be something great and other-worldly, but the storyline just took a fall of a cliff in the last fifteen minutes of the film. Also, can we just talk about the uncomfortable UST between Jenny and Peter? From the beginning, we're led to believe that there's a possible connection between the two: Jenny asking Peter if he likes love stories; Peter saying he only likes the ones ending in tragedies (which, if you're already guessing he's a ghost, you might think he means he and Jenny since he's dead); the way they freaking look at each other; the forehead kiss when he "comes to her" in the hospital room. All of this leads the viewers to believe that Jenny will be devastated when she finds out this handsome young man she's (most likely) fallen for is really dead. Instead, we find out he's actually her BROTHER! Her dead brother, who likes tragic romance stories and who was only conceived because their mother was raped. It's just...weird and creepy and ew. Just gross.Overall, I gave this a 4 out of ten, because while I was greatly disappointed, there were redeeming qualities about the film. I wouldn't say it's a 'complete' waste of time, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend it either.

laurachiara-c I am aware that this film is not perfect. Maybe eight out of then is a little too high as a rate but you should consider that since the seventies and early eighties the Italian horror movie gender has been completely abandoned and disown here in its homeland. So it really gives me solace that for once there is an Italian horror movie that I can support without shame. And mind you, I am not usually enthusiastic about my country.Of course since Italian acting school nowadays is dreadful one of the things that keeps this film going is the fact that the cast is international. Good choice. None of the actors is a genius but they all are quite good.I like a lot that the story talks about ancient Italian myths and it is set in a gloomy misty Tuscany miles away from the clichés we are used to in American movie. Tuscany is sunny and full of vegetation and vines and good food and beautiful country houses and charming little towns but in winter it really is just like that.The screenplay is good. All the flaws in the story you can pick up during the movie have an explanation in the end if you are patient. It has almost the kind of creepy feeling of a Pupi Avati movie but it actually makes sense in the end.Unfortunately the film slows down a lot during the second half before the final part and this is my main problem with it.This said, the direction is good and discreet, the screenplay is interesting the CG special effects are few but nice so I am really happy to support this film. If only there were more like this one made in Italy...

petra_ste I believe it was Aristotle who claimed that in fiction the impossible works better than the improbable. In other words, a horror movie with Etruscan ghosts haunting a Tuscan lake? I'm along for the ride. A guy managing to keep many people in captivity for years, successfully performing complex surgical procedures on them and getting rid of the corpses, all without anyone ever noticing? And not somewhere in the Gobi desert, but in one of the most densely populated European countries, to boot? I'm not buying it. And I will mention neither his demented motivations nor a spoiler - his connection with the victims - which make the premise even more ridiculous.Neverlake suffers from a case of overplotting. Either you go with the supernatural storyline or with the "medical experiments/abductions" cases: pick one and run with it. The two don't glue together well, and structure gets wonky; any horror movie where a medusa-like monster is there merely for a cameo, where a surgeon performs ludicrously difficult operations and follows them up with esoteric rituals, or where the protagonist first has to throw some relics in a lake to appease phantoms and then to recover other relics from the same lake to appease other phantoms... well, it should probably rethink its storytelling choices.5/10