Ghost Lake
Directed by Jay Woelfel
R
111 mins
I love watching horror movies even knowing that sometimes they turn out to be sheer comedy stuff. I never had much expectations when I sat down to watch ‘Ghost Lake’ Soon I realized that it was an ambitious project. The director has tried to merge in several genres together. I must start from the DVD cover… “Evil Rises” which are a number of menacing looking ghosts/zombies rising up in the mysterious moonlight from a lake under a very huge full moon. Thus it had everything to compel you to take it up. Rebecca is the main character.
Tatum Adair who plays her will surely remind you of Naomi Watts of ‘The Ring’, atleast in looks if not in acting. Rebecca on one of her night outs is seen dancing with a guy which takes sensuous proportions as in ‘Basic Instinct’ club scene though milder. While she is making out on the back seat of her car, her parents die in a freak gas leak at home. Ghosts from the past keep on tormenting her guilty mind right from the funeral day. The story goes back and forth in time as she sees her parents again and again, her old mother and cripple father. She tries to make a getaway at Rushford Lake( a place where she had been with her parents and have a house there) when she almost runs over Stan, who becomes her love interest later. It’s a very bad idea since she is hurtled from a world of hallucinations to a world of more hallucinations and apparitions which come alive with time.
The man made lake was actually an old town that was flooded(dam)some 100 years or so ago. Some of the residents were drowned and they’re still around and every 13 years, they return to reclaim another 13 victims. Rebecca’s vacation coincides with the date. There are many characters including the little girl and Rebecca’s new boyfriend. Whether they are real or spirits, can Rebecca put all the pieces together, rid herself of her personal ghosts and rid the town of theirs… to know that see the movie.
The ending is a pretty big surprise see it to believe. Despite the baffling nature of the plot, ’’Ghost Lake’’ scores with its suspense. Director Woelfel has done it pretty well. For instance, at the beginning at the 10-12 minute mark you’re treated to a slow sequence with lots of moving shadows and assorted jolts. There is a dual-dream sequence which follows soon. I particularly liked the water seeping and flooding sequence when Rebecca is pulled through the window by zombie hands. It reminded me of Lockwood’s first dream in ‘Wuthering Heights’ when he grabe the ghostly hands of Cathy through the window. Also check out the run through the graveyard. “Ghost Lake” is like a breath of fresh air, especially considering all the crap the studios have been shoving down our throats. “House of Wax”? “Haunting”?
Another inferior “Ring” remake?
However there are some drawbacks which will make you think.
1.What kind of a gas leak was it that killed Rebecca’s parents
2.The making of the Rushford Lake had drowned some of the residents in the valley but why?…were they not informed to vacate the place.
3.What was the logic behind Rebecca going to Rushford in the first place? She was already seeing the imaginary ghosts of her parents and wanted some peace of mind and Rushford was a place full of the memories of her parents.
4.Why didn’t she leave when from the very beginning things started going wrong? 5.When she had been to Rushford so many times, how come she did not know the history of the place.
Though the director scores with the beautiful cinematography, the movie suffers from a medley of genres. Sometimes it’s a murder mystery, a horror flick or a psychological thriller. Some scenes also drag and acting is just ok.
Even the film used is not top grade and the movie though overall made with a low budget, tries hard at perfection.
The movie will remind you of many movies like: ‘In Dreams’, ‘Night of the Living Dead’, ‘Gothika’, ‘The Ring’, ‘What Lies Beneath’ But I am sure you will like it so watch it today ;)