Bodies of water; lakes, oceans, and rivers, are considered mystical and are often surrounded by legend. Released on January 15, 2016 via Gravitas Ventures, Horror film Lake Eerie speaks for itself. Written by Meredith Majors (The Gene Generation 2007, The Neighbor 2007), who also stars as the main protagonist, Kate Ryan, and directed by Chris Majors (Echo of Evil 2017), who plays Harrison Lloyd in the film, Lake Eerie stars a small cast. Filmed in La Salle, Michigan, after being featured at a handful of film festivals, Horror fans are gradually beginning to discover the new Horror/Thriller.
- Still from Lake Eerie
After Kate’s (Majors) husband recently died in a fire, she leaves her father, Pop’s (Lance Henriksen: Aliens 1986, Pumpkinhead 1988) property against his better judgement and moves into an old house on Lake Eerie. The house has been unoccupied for years, Kate is a painter and wants to use the place to inspire her.
She meets her next door neighbor, Eliza (Betsy Baker: The Evil Dead 1981, Oz the Great and Powerful 2013), who takes care of and lives with her sister. Eliza tells Kate the previous owner, Harrison (Majors), had been a friend. He has been an archaeologist and after finding a strange necklace many years ago he disappeared. Eliza’s sister’s granddaughter, Autumn (Anne Leigh Cooper: A Venetian Dream 2015, Dick and Jack 2016), is fascinated with Harrison’s work and spends some time in the house with Kate trying to find out more about him.
- Still from Lake Eerie
Kate’s new place is in the middle of nowhere, and while it came fully furnished, the electricity connection causes some issues. From the first night in her new house, Kate experiences strange dreams; visions of her late husband and another woman, hears someone else in the house, and becomes intrigued by Harrison’s disappearance. When cleaning, she finds his diary, which opens up a connection between the two. Through her dreams, visions, and transistor radio, Kate and Harrison develop a relationship. This pushes Kate to find the necklace and open a doorway to a hell-like portal. It does not take long and Kate holds the necklace. Despite Pop’s concern regarding her mental health, with Autumn’s help, Kate commits to saving Harrison and getting him back into the real world at all costs. What Kate does not expect is who will try and stop her.
Lake Eerie has some interesting concepts, with effective special effects. However, the acting overall is shaky; several scenes make no sense and do not push the plot forward. For instance, the sex scenes between Kate, her late husband, and the dead woman are bizarre and out of place. Kate communicating with Harrison via the radio does not make a lot of sense in this day and age, particularly while she has got a cell phone. Most of the cinematography by David M. Brewer (Insidious 2010, Grit 2015) is mostly solid, using a RED Epic Camera. High profile movies such as 2015’s The Martian and Jurassic World have also used this camera. A lot of the flashback and vision scenes are blurry to give it a dreamy feel. Rather than this effect, it creates an out-of-movie, disjointed experience for the viewer.
- Still from Lake Eerie
The addition of Eliza as a character does not add much other than confusion and the movie without her progressed equally as well. The actual owners of the house had a number of paranormal investigators throughout the house, who have found evidence the place is haunted. Overall, Lake Eerie is worth watching at least once, perhaps more for the most dedicated of Horror lovers. CrypticRock.com gives this film 3 out of 5 stars.
- Gravitas Ventures
){kind=link}
No comment