Lake Alice

I have never seen such a poor, so called horror film, lots of over the top screaming and very little action or story line. Very predictable victims and very predictable assassins. A child of 11 could create a better script.The film only lasts 75 minutes and believe me, that is the only good point. If you have an hour and a quarter to spare, do not use it watching this movie. You will regret it.

I only watched it for Eimeen Dietz, best know for her ultra short performance in the classic The Exorcist (1973) as Pazuzu. And she do gives the best performance in this flick. Sadly it's the only positive thing I can say.

You have to wait over half the flick before things go wrong. Before that it's all about having a Christmas diner with the family and the new lover of their daughter. Going back to the cabin do offer a few issues in town with the family. But nothing comes out of that. When you think it's going to happen, in fact, nothing happens at all. Once the terror comes in it's all low on horror and gore and the must have shower scene doesn't offer a thing too.

It did had some potential but the director chose to make it a low on everything with too much blah blah going on. Throughout the flick you will find out yourself who the killer is. There are a few twist but you won't be surprised about it.

Lake Alice is out there but not for the geeks...

Gore 0/5 Nudity 0/5 Effects 2/5 Story 2/5 Comedy 0/5

I love horror, and I love whodunnits. Becoming a fiftysomething grandma has not changed my preference for good horror. My favourites are The witch in the window, (best horror ever made), Terrified, Dark was the night, Don't look now (from 1973,with Donald Sutherland) The Witch, Caveat, and most of James Wan. This film is far from those.

However, it is by no means bad. In fact, I found it quite good. The actors are fine, the scenery, suspense, the cold weather, the christmas theme, the build up, the killings, the twist, the lovely cabin, I liked all of it.

No annoying teens, no plot holes, likeable main charachters. I want them to survive, and I care about them. Especially one scene, which has to do with mistaken identity, was heartbreaking to watch.

No, its not brilliant, but it is decent. I'd rather watch this than snore fests like Saint Maud or Amulet.

A family consisting of mother, father, daughter and boyfriend take a retreat to a cabin at Lake Alice, Wisconsin, during the Holidays, but the joys of the season take a deadly turn when a mysterious slayer suddenly emerges.

"Lake Alice" (2018) is a modern slasher Indie in the mold of traditional slashers with the tropes thereof, e.g. The silent killer with a mask of some sort. The technical filmmaking is good except for a couple of issues. What works best is the authentic cold winter setting of northern Wisconsin. I like the whole set-up of the family returning to their home town in the rural Great Lakes region and the entertaining drama thereof. Sometimes the director spends a little too much time on a mundane scene, but I felt it established the reality of the situation, so I didn't mind.

The second half is where some weaknesses rear their heads. I didn't find the killings very convincing for the most part. For instance, when the first person is fatally attacked I giggled and thought maybe it was a prank. Most of the rest of the assaults have an unreal vibe as well and were okay at best. So the director is good at drama but needs to improve when it comes to staging action/suspense sequences. The micro-budget Indie "The Ridge" (2005) had the opposite problem: The drama of the first half is so weak it tempts the viewer to tune out, but the horrific second half wherein the killer chases the victims is superbly done.

The diff between this and "The Ridge" is that "Lake Alice" features a Whodunit angle. The first half establishes 4-5 possible suspects and the scriptwriter came up with a decent conclusion (as far as whom the killer turns out to be and the details thereof). The director just needs to work out the kinks in the attack sequences.

The movie runs 1 hour, 18 minutes, and was shot at Tomahawk in the Lake Alice region of northern Wisconsin.

GRADE: C.

Perhaps because I am a big fan of the Horror Genra I was (literally) able to predict the Killer in this film 8 minutes into it. That may be hard to believe but if you have watched as many horror films as I have, it wasn't hard. There is a slight twist which I won't disclose and spoil it for anyone so I will simply give my perspective.

I think a "5" rating is justified for this film but may be a little generous. Acting, story line, plot and sound were sub par. Twist endings are always enjoyable but this one was a bit too much. If you have to take a simple formula used 100's of times in a Horror/Thriller and add one more factor to it to say "it's original", then anyone with $25,000 can produce an "original" film I suppose. This does not, an original film, make.

If you use your head a little and pay attention to the characters introduced in the first 10 minutes of the film any true Horror fan with half a brain will see who the Killer is, quite obviously. Pay close attention to facial expressions and subtract the obvious. That is how I guessed it right probably less then 8 minutes in.

To that end, I would not "Dead-Pan" the movie completely, but, don't spend a dime on an On-Demand order or theater viewing of this film. Wait a couple months to buy it in the $3 bin at your local Walmart or Grocery store. That I would recommend.