O Lago

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.

Those who expected the combination of words "Lake + Yasmine + Bleeth" to equal ninety minutes of the ravishing former Baywatch star parading in colorful bikinis and too tight bathing suits might be *slightly* disappointed, but all the others are likely to be pleasantly surprised after seeing this produced-for-TV 90's thriller. The plot offers absolutely nothing original, as it's just another umpteenth variation on the "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" theme, but the overall atmosphere is remarkably unsettling, the pacing is kept stable without too many boring relapses and the acting performances are more than adequate. If you can accept the unearthly beautiful & voluptuous Bleeth to play the role of an intelligent nurse, you won't have any problems sinking your teeth into the rest of derivative story, neither. Jackie Ivers returns to her little hometown, San Vincento, California, after she received note that her abusive and drunkard father is dying from liver cirrhosis. She immediately notices something isn't kosher in town. Severely injured victims of car accidents happily walk the streets the day after, friendly elderly neighbors turn into grumpy and emotionless people overnight and even Jackie's terminally ill father miraculously cures and transforms into an amiable guy. Long before Jackie does, the attentive and experienced viewer figures out the townsfolk are gradually being replaced with replicas from a parallel dimension, and this through an eerie vortex in the middle of the town's lake. Admittedly you're always several steps ahead of the script, but the film at least contains a handful of well-staged & tense scenes (for example, when neighbor Maggie runs into her own doppelganger) and the paranoid climax even reminded me of the genuinely nostalgic Sci-Fi efforts of the 1950's. Admirers of the lovely Mrs. Bleeth – and, honestly, what male individual on this planet isn't one – are treated to a double portion of eye-candy near the end of the movie and even during that scene she behaves like a professional actress. "The Lake" also stars Haley Joel Osment before he became a world star thanks to "The Sixth Sense" and the always reliable Robert Prosky whose face anyone will recognize. Decent rainy-Saturday-afternoon time-waster.

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!

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.

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.