The Lake

This is one of the many iterations of the "Invasion Of The Body Snatchers" theme of duplicates replacing originals. The title refers to the lake where some kind of vortex is the meeting place of two worlds. The film manages to really build suspense through the first hour, and is quite well done for a TV film. But like so many of these stories, the explanation is far fetched and a bit of a letdown. Having Haley Joel Osment is a plus, in a supporting role, but by the end, what might have been a 9 or 10 gets a generous 8, mainly because it was so captivating for the majority of the film.

Avoid this film at all costs. I thought a film where a portal is opened to a parallel universe would bring endless possibilities and ideas (eg Stargate, Hellraiser etc) but this portal only leads to a world that is "hell" due to being destroyed by a lack of ozone (how topical!!). We never get to see this other world, and its inhabitants are exactly the same as the first reality, other than a slight mood change.

Bleeth cannot act convincingly in either reality, and there are no redeeming features! Sorry!

The kid from sixth Sense obviously went onto to better things but I doubt anyone else in this pathetic movie will. Watch 'Invasion of the bodysnatchers' for real duplicitous suspense and terror.

What an enjoyable movie this is! It's one of those plots that keep you thinking right the way through the film. This is fortunate, as it tends to distract you from the low budget and sometimes questionable acting. Although it's basically a variation on the old BODY SNATCHERS story, THE LAKE has some interesting angles which make it quite unique.

Yasmine Bleeth, who wraps up warm throughout the movie (well that red bathing suit can't keep much of the cold out!), is passable as the Los Angeles girl who returns home to find her friends and family taking on bizarrely different personalities. She looks good, but cannot quite grasp that lead-actress air that would have been nice. Her biggest assets (those that were exploited every Saturday afternoon in my teens) are defiantly not an issue here (to the credit of Ms Bleeth and the director). So it's good to see her in a role which relies on other talents. The supporting artists in the film, however, are rather unmemorable and serve as 'character wallpaper' in this highly decorated story. Of interest, though, is a slightly younger (and trendier) Haley Joel Osment who has just shot to fame as Cole in THE SIXTH SENSE.

In conclusion, this is an enjoyable movie with flaws that are somewhat masked by a damn good story. A bigger budget would have really made a difference (a cinema release may have been able to give us a glimpse of "the other side" in its exciting climax). But as a TV-movie this definitely works. So jump right in, and stay close to the shore!

The first 60 minutes of this movie are really good. Great plot till then. Yasmine Bleeth looks awesome as always. And plays her character more then well. But then all of the sudden the plot turns around in 180 degrees. One of the worst second part of a movie I've ever seen. And the ending is even more disappointing.

A definite bad day for the good cast. Could have been MUCH better if the script writers had put in some more effort.

This NBC TV movie with beauty Yasmine Bleeth who returns home in the place she grew up only to find her town is now strange and different, was one of the better thrillers on TV that I've seen recently. The, Lake is mainly about an invasion of strangers from a parallel universe who cause and do the strangest things to this town. This movie might just have been made into a series if the writers would have thought more. Generally strange happenings with strange towns as the setting seem to make a hit series. To finish out this movie should be watched for the beautiful Yasmine Bleeth. Just like drinking milk does you good, watching a movie and viewing Yasmine does a man good also.