Skeleton Lake

Dear Mr. Mckay II.

Although it is quite obvious that the movie in mention is not good at all (sorry to say that)...

I have one question and one suggestion though.

Q: Why didn't you blew up the ambulance after bank robbery when robbers switched cars? It is once classic cliché that you should'v definitely use.

S: Please, find something else to do, but don't, I beg you, don't make any more movies.

Yours truly Hazy Davey from Sydney

I believe this is the first positive review I've been motivated to write. I am doing so because there are no other reviews and this low budget flick deserves attention. I'd say it's a clever predator vs. the well-armed and ruthless protagonists, rather than the serial killer vs. the kids camping in the woods kind of movie and it does that well, so if you like that kind of thing, you'll dig it. I'm personally more into brain candy but this was an enjoyable ride.

I'm not a big fan of this kind of premise but this has good writing so it's different with writing, directing, acting, camera work and not the usual number and quality of suspension of disbelief moments that have me bitching at the screen. The beginning drew me in and since the story kept me guessing while I tried to figure out the characters. I surprised myself when I realized I was actually into it.

I see Neil MacKay directed and wrote with Sean McAulay and IMDb has this as Neil's first film, so bravo! I expect this is going to get attention and you'll get money to spend on your next project and hopefully my high expectations for you will prove justified.

Not greatly challenging rolls for the actors but they did good jobs and I saw a promising spark in a few of them. I have criticisms about realism but they are spoilers and gee, this isn't a biography or a documentary, ha. Also, it had a bit of humor to it, which is always a welcome relief for me, after relentless brutality. Gosh, I went on too long. Loved the cigar lighting scene, you'll know which one I mean, had me grinning.

Gosh, that was a lot of praise, hmm, now I feel I deserve a share of that, what was it? 3.2 Million, from the bank heist. Oh well, I got on a roll so I'll count it as a good deed.

Which is a hard hitting drama, in the same mould as 'Southern Comfort'. Quite brutal in parts and concerns a crazy Vietnam vet, holding out in a forest and slaughtering anyone who dares tread on his territory. A well worn scenario but one that is worth telling over and over. Some excellent action throughout but i get the feeling iv'e seen it somewhere before. The low score here seems mighty harsh and 'Battleground' is a well made, exciting film.

A desperate gang of violent criminals rob a bank . Escaping they lie low in a wooded rural backwaters . Preparing to leave they find themselves being stalked by an unseen foe and fighting for their lives

There's something rather confused about this film at a production level . It does confound expectations and I immediately thought I might be watching a Tarantino wannabe where some desperate criminals falling out amongst themselves then having to pool their resources against a supernatural foe . It does have a RESERVOIR DOGS feel to it for about five minutes then turns in to something along the lines of PREDATOR or SOUTHERN COMFORT . The problem is the plot turn of the villains being hunted down by a deranged Vietnam veteran is played far too soon so any potential surprise or suspense is soon lost . The idea of men being hunted in an unfamiliar hinterland seems to have bored the production team and therefore need to bring in a different element - one of torture porn with a scene stolen from THE DEER HUNTER

I don't want to totally condemn the film out of hand . It's a Canadian low budget get feature ( The Canadians accents are noticeable when characters say " About " ) but it's far from the worst film broadcast on The Horror Channel . The technical aspects such as cinematography and editing is more than competent but does show a rather clumsy approach to the storytelling almost as though the production team are very unsure what type of film they're making and has an underdeveloped feel . It's probably summed up by the title of the film which according to some sources is either celled BATTLEGROUND or SKELTON LAKE

Battleground is a movie that has been done before. The only thing is that each of its elements were in different movies (for example: Predator - except that the predator in that was a science-fiction alien and in this he's real)! Basically whilst certainly not a great film of the genre, Battleground is worth the time taken to watch it. Unfortunately, the director fell into the same trap that so many others have succumbed to whereby there is a scene where the predator runs away from three heavily-armed men through the forest. All three are letting loose with machine guns (at least one with one in each hand!) and yet the only person who gets anything like a hit is the cameraman who manages at least three seconds of a clear shot of the fleeing man's back whilst the three pursuers cant even scratch him! As I say, this is nothing new, It happened in several Arnold Scwartzenegger films where several good guys (or vice versa) fire several hundred rounds at the fleeing bad guy (or vice versa) and yet the bad guy, with only a hand gun manages to take out more than one of them over his shoulder. It insults the viewers' intelligence and, in my case anyway, cost some points in my rating of the movie. Other than that though, Battleground is definitely a thriller - although, with just a couple of brief exceptions, not really a horror film - and, as I say, worth the time.