Ghost Lake
Ghost Lake is an independent feature that over-stretches its boundaries with some ambitious plot elements that never really come to fruition in a satisfactory manner. The film is about a chick who flees to a house next to a lake after her parents die. Since she was off slamming genitals while her parents were suffering asphyxiation due to a gas leak, she feels guilty and her fragile state of mind doesn’t help matters as strange events start occurring at the lake. She begins to see ghosts and having visions of people drowning. With the help of a mysterious stranger and a thrilling research scene, she begins to uncover the mysterious past of the lake… something to do with the number thirteen and a fisherman. From there, the plot kind of devolves and the reasoning and explanations for the occurrences at the lake are poorly handled as the dead begin to arise and pull people into the murky depths of the lake.
The film is directed by Jay Woelfel (Trancers 6, Demonicus). Woelfel’s film is alright in the visuals department. Nothing is really that memorable and the film moves slower than a used condom sliding down a wall. Woelfel’s handling of the story leaves something to be desired and the cloudy plot is confusing at best. Woelfel plays with the audience, trying to turn a ninety minute flick into something grander than it needs to be. Ghost Lake is a case of a director trying to do stuff that is beyond his means. The complicated bait and switch tactics that he uses only serves to distract and confuse the viewer, and what starts out as a simple enough tale, becomes a mish-mash of ghost clichés. Woelfel’s editing is also quite lacking as his dependence on wipes, at first a plus, becomes old and tired as the technique is over-used and at bewildering moments in the film.
The film is actually acted fairly well as far as the principle actors go. In addition to showing of her boobules, Tatum Adair, who plays Rebecca the protagonist, actually manages to carry the latter half of the film when it begins to fall apart. Timothy Prindle is also serviceable as Stan James, the mysterious stranger that serves as comfort and guide to Rebecca’s character. The rest of the cast is decidedly bad. Some of the actors clearly have a “family and friends” vibe to them and the only time any of the supporting cast rises above disposable fodder is when they are covered in makeup and reduced to shambling monsters.
The special effects in the film are substandard as there are many frequent scenes of needless CGI. If you don’t have the skill to use CGI, even sparingly, spend a little time thinking about practical ways to achieve your effects. Seriously, a purple CGI light in a window of a picture in the background is not only pointless, but distracts the viewer from the practical effects. The makeup effects of the ghosts are the best part of the film, unfortunately, it takes about fifty minutes before they begin to show up. The film also contains some of the worst decayed corpses I’ve ever seen, basically a bunch of colored gel laid over a framework of classroom skeletons… spooky.
As a horror movie, Ghost Lake is quite bland and very unsure of itself. The explanations offered for the happening in Ghost Lake are confusing and the film never ponies up enough horror to let this fact slide. The only thing the film does right is get the lead actress naked in the first ten minutes… awesome. Hell, I probably would have turned the film off if not for the promise of a naked chick… sadly, there’s only one more boob shot throughout the rest of the film.
Final Synopsis: Ghost Lake is a disappointment as a horror film. It’s a textbook example of how independent horror can go bad. There are some interesting moments but the majority of the film is a grind. Skip this one… watch Zombie Lake instead.
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