'The Winter Lake' Clip: Dark Family Secrets Create An Ominous Atmosphere And Tension

While some thrillers don't shy away from immediately ramping up suspense, others prefer a slow burn that creates a moody atmosphere and slowly builds tension. That's exactly what we have in The Winter Lake, a new Irish thriller that marks the directorial debut of Phil Sheerin with a script from David Turpin (The Lodgers).

In The Winter Lake, single mother Elaine (Charlie Murphy) and her troubled son tom (Anson Boon) move into a remote family lake house after some kind of traumatizing event. But when Tom discovers something worrisome in the nearby lake, they find themselves embroiled in a tense confrontation with their neighbor Ward (Michael McElhatton) and his daughter Holly (Emma Mackey), who seem to have their own dark secrets.

See the tension mounting between them in The Winter Lake clip we're exclusively debuting below.

In this clip, Ward has become aware of what Tom has found in the lake. The Winter Lake trailer seems to tease that it may be some kind of human remains. That would explain why Ward is so willing to threaten Tom's mother in order to retrieve it, and that's after he put something in her drink in order to give him time to confront Tom alone. The official synopsis indicates it's something from Holly's past that has literally resurfaced in the lake:

When Holly's dark secret is accidentally uncovered by her new emotionally unstable neighbor Tom, they are pulled into a violent confrontation with her father, who will do anything to keep the secret hidden.

Clearly this movie is hiding a lot of secrets, all in an effort to give everything an ominous feel as we head towards an explosive confrontation. While Tom is made out to be the troubled teen that the audience is initially worried about, clearly it's Holly where the true darkness lies. Ward appears willing to do anything in order to make sure Holly's secret stays hidden, but is he actually prepared to go to those lengths?

For what it's worth, Allan Hunter at ScreenDaily found the movie to be predictable but with commendable performances:

In the end, it is that soggy, oppressive atmosphere and the quality of the acting that standout in The Winter Lake rather than the rather predictable story.

If you'd like to see more from this atmospheric thriller, here's the official trailer:

The Winter Lake arrives in select theaters today, arrives on VOD starting March 9, and then DVD on March 23.