Le monstre du lac noir

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)

Pretty good for a low budget B movie in the Bigfoot genre. It is funny, serious, suspenseful-what more can you ask for? Acting is not painfully bad as in some low budget 70's movies, and is actually pretty good, though it was a little gory and violent in several scenes. I would not let children watch it, especially if you are planning a camping or hiking trip in the near future ! I thought that compared to Legend of Boggy Creek for instance, it was a lot more entertaining. And one hundred percent better than Boggy Creek II. Mystery Science Theater's Boggy Creek II is pretty funny and worth watching. All I can say is, watch it!

This is one case where a low budget turns to be an advantage than a liability. The less-polished look and direction give an effective documentary feeling to what's happening. Increasing this feeling are the well-developed characters. The two friends act like real friends, and the locals are believable and not Southern stereotypes. (Even the sheriff turns out to be a decent fellow.) The scenes with the Bridges family are unbelievably good, and you really feel like you are there and enjoying their company. (And I LOVE that catchy song they sing!)

The "stalking" scenes are pretty good as well. The creature is wisely kept hidden, and the emphasis is on atmosphere and potential danger. The climatic scene is the creepiest; a part of it make me wonder if the makers of RITUALS were inspired by it for their own climax. Hopefully this movie will get a DVD release eventually, and add to its cult.

I know, I know. This is an extremely dated, average, run of the mill, low budget, cheesy seventies B class horror movie. However, I saw this film in the theater when I was ten years old and it scared the hell out of me. The creature depicted in the movie kept my brother and I out of the woods for an entire summer. We were convinced that the existence of Sasquatch type creatures was entirely possible and that sudden violent death awaited anyone unfortunate enough to have a close encounter with one of these bad tempered beasts. For nostalgic reasons alone this is still one of my favorite B class horror movies, but don't go out of your way to find it.

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.