Il mistero del lago nero

I remember seeing this movie in the now defunct 'Jerry Lewis Cinemas' chain when I was a teenager. Living in a rural, and I mean rural area, the movie affected my brother and I that summer. My little brother wouldn't go near the woods at our house (all we had around were woods, LOL), and would check all the door locks before going to bed for almost a month because of this movie.

Myself, well, I'd get some goosebumps when I was riding my motorcycle through the woods. But back to the movie. You either love it or hate it. Black Lake does have some slow scenes, but does deliver a punch, especially with Dub Taylor's flashback scenes. Jack Elam made the movie for me, I just wished they had given him more screen-time. I loved the way he chewed up his lines!

The creature is never really seen in detail, just in shadows or blurry footage, but that adds to the suspense. It's available on VHS or VCD from Bijou Flix. Watched it the other day with my wife and teen daughters....and it did scare them.

For its time and budget, a good Bigfoot film IMHP.

It's nice to see that "Creature from Black Lake" has quite a few loyal fans around this website. Nice because, even though it's not exactly a good film, it's undoubtedly a charming and spirited piece of 70's low budget film-making. The creators of this film UNOBTRUSIVELY cash in on the contemporary trend of Bigfoot-horror movies, and that's probably what makes it so likable. It's a sober and atmospheric film, practically shot in documentary-style, and it never wants to be overly spectacular or gross. Okay, maybe there weren't enough financial means to show a more impressive creature or to shoot virulent battle scenes, but then still you got to admire director Joy N. Houck Jr. for effectively using the impenetrably dark Louisiana swamplands and their population's restraint attitude. Two students from the university of Chicago head for a remote village in Louisiana to write their thesis about the legendary creature that supposedly dwells the swamps there. Long before they even come face to face with the monster, Pahoo & Rives have to deal with inhospitable rednecks that deny its existence. Just when they consider giving up, a giant ominous figure approaches their tent… I have a soft spot for horror stories that take place in quiet outback areas, but too often these films exaggerate in portraying the locals as perverted and totally brainless imbeciles. The people in "Creature from Black Lake" are genuine rednecks; still they don't come across like retarded stereotypes but more like members of an aloof community that wishes to protect what's theirs. The two leads are very amiable too, since they're common guys with an open spirit towards each other and towards the people they encounter, even when those aren't helpful to them. Equally praiseworthy is the feeling of constant menace lurking from behind the trees. You always expect the creature (or something else that is scary) to jump out from somewhere. This creepy effect is made even more intense with sober music and eerie natural sounds. A slightly higher number of casualties would have been welcome, but I sure ain't complaining. Recommended to fans of atmosphere-driven horror

Two college students go down South looking for bigfoot. The locals try to warn them off. They get into some mild trouble with local girls, one of whom is naturally the sheriff's daughter. But the real fun begins when bigfoot shows up.

Many of us who were children in the 70's harbor a certain misbegotten affection for bigfoot movies. Many of these were actually "documentaries" or "docudramas" that are pretty hard to find these days. Another one, "Snowbeast", is a pretty decent TV movie. This may be the best, certainly one of the better at least, of the purely fictional, cinematic movies. It's pretty tame like most of these movies were (with the exception of the wonderfully gory "Night of the Demon" and the short-lived "bigfoot-rape" movies), but it has some pretty good suspense and likable characters (including the guy who played "Ponce de Leon in the 70's cult classic "Pretty Maids All in a Row"). It was a local production made in the South by a director with a great affection for the region, who for once doesn't treat small-town Southerners like a bunch of dumb hicks (OK, maybe they really ARE a bunch of dumb hicks, but its still refreshing).

This movie kind of fell into the shadow of the similar but more successful "Legend of Boggy Creek", but I personally liked this one a lot better. Tragically it's not available in widescreen yet, but I'd still recommend it.

Two college students from Chicago decide to investigate the stories of a Bigfoot-like creature in the area around Black Lake Louisiana. Once there they find that no one wants to talk to them about the creature. However they begin to make friends who open up with tales of the creature. They end up in a battle for their lives when the creature comes after them.

Drive-in fare from the 1970's is much better than its reputation would suggest. While certainly not the scariest movie ever made it does have its share of chills as the little seen monster causes mayhem to those who stray with in its grasp. I don't know what my reaction would have been had I seen this is a drive-in back in '76 and then driven home in the rural south. My guess is I would be dreading hearing the creepy cry of the creature (a cry I know my brothers would have loved to imitate to scare anyone who saw the film).

Definitely worth a look for those who don't need their horror films to be slick modern productions. (And recommended for a dark and stormy night with the lights out) 6.5 out of 10 (6 for IMDb purposes)

Being a "Bigfoot" fan and watching and liking 70's cult films this 1976 simple and sweet made flick "Creature from Black Lake" was a fun little treat to watch. Set in the rural country backwoods swamps of Louisiana where strange sightings have occurred of a big hairy beast which has made the locals quite. Now enter two city slicker Chicago college students and they journey and adventure to explore and hunt for the strange creature! The film was made low budget as you can see the shots are cheap. Still the images are effective as the scenes of attacks are violent chases! Plus the audio and sound recordings are haunting! The feel and atmosphere is spooky with wooded forests and the creature is scary looking and the film moves along just right. Overall for a mid 70's camp like film it worked just fine.