User reviews

It's not perfect but I like it, it's good! I liked all the actors but specially Hedy Burress as Mallory and Judd Nelson as the writer serial killer Stanley. The music is great too. I repeat, the film is not perfect, it has some weaknesses, I will not reveal them here, but even so, it's still captivating. It's not easy to give it some stars, precisely because of those imperfections. Here's what I'm going to do: the first hour of the movie, is excellent, is worth 10 stars. The remaining 31 minutes are not worth more than 4 stars. 10 plus 4 divided by 2 equals seven. And, if you haven't noticed already reading this review or from other reviews of mine for many other movies, I try with all sincerity to be the most critical objective possible, from all points of view.

I had been wanting to see this movie when I saw it previewed on the USA channel, and when it finally came on,I got to watch it. And, I was surprised! It was a good thriller/horror/comedy film. Although, it wasn't much of a comedy. Judd Nelson (The Breakfast Club) and Hedy Burres (Valentine) were great!!! It was an excellent T.V. movie. I still haven't seen the sequel "Return to Cabin By the Lake". All in all, it was a good film that I give an 8 out of 10. :)

i never made a comment on a movie, this is the 1st and may be the last, this movie is awful, the writer ,the script and the director made this film for the goofy audience, i've seen many thrill movies , sometimes you are not thrilled that much and you get a little frustrated but this one makes you angry, goofy scenario. Serial killer with no convincing motive , idiot policeman who leaves the only witness in a motel room beside the crime scene without anyone guarding her, and of course the killer returns and easily re kidnap her ...God i cant believe this, and the killer just vanishes and not once but twice with the same way. serial killer who killed 6 or 7 victims and the police deals with it as if he is a laundry thief or something!! this is what i can say, so do not bother and spend 2 hours watching this.

I consider myself one of the last true lovers of the great B-movies. That being said, I find it odd that I dislike this movie as much as I do. The acting is atrocious, the sets are too sterile to be believed, the music is generic at best...I would go on, but I'd feel as though I was rambling. It seemed like a good thriller plot line, but throw in horrible direction, second-rate actors, and a crew that I wouldn't let film my kid's football game, and you get what we have here. On the plus side, the girls in the film are very lovely, and the underwater shots are done well enough. The underlying humor is probably enough to warrant a boring Sunday afternoon's TV viewing, but I certainly would not pay to own such a stinker of a film.

Not bad for a TV movie, had a decent plot , I found some -what entertaining.

I didn't find it boring at all, it didn't really drag on, it's flowed really well.

As this was a TV movie, there wasn't any blood, w it's more about killer drowning his victims.

The killer was creepy in one or two scene, some of the under water scene were tad intense at times.

This movie kind of gave me the stepfather vibe.

The ending for sure reminded me a lot of the stepfather movies and acting was really good for a TV movie.

6 out of 10

this is an OK TV movie,i guess.i think it's supposed to be a black comedy.it had some ironic moments,to be sure.i did not find it scary in any way,so i don't think it could be called a horror movie.i did think the acting was pretty decent.i really liked the soundtrack.i thought it was very unique.i felt it fit nicely withe movie.i did expect the movie to be better than it was,so in that regard,i found it a disappointment.it's a decent diversion if you want to kill 90 minutes,though i wouldn't say it's a brilliant movie,by any stretch.it was nice to see Judd Nelson in a different kind of role.i think he pulled it off well.not once did i think of the 80's teen movie "The Breakfast Club" which i think Nelson is well known for.to me,that's a sign of a good actor.and like i said,the acting was decent all around.it was just the movie itself that didn't quite work for me.I'll give "Cabin by the Lake" 6/10* for the acting and the great music.

This film suffers from a script that is only rivalled in its poor quality by the absolutely appalling directing. The film starts badly with a succession of puns, and just goes downhill from there. Predictable, poorly crafted and full of mistakes (particularly near the end of the film), this is the epitome of what the film-makers craft shouldn't be. A tired, confused script, and ideas copied from every other film in the genre - except that the director clearly didn't understand the theory behind them. Terrible, avoid this like the plague.

I'll tell ya, I feel sorry for Judd Nelson and all the bad rap he gets; as far as his performance in this movie goes, he totally maintains the mood. Cabin by the Lake is a made-for-tv movie originally aired on USA, however, I now own it and it's sequel on dvd. (amazon.com) If you're looking to hand out oscars you might consider overlooking this one, but if you're looking to be entertained (as cheesily as possible) this is it! I thoroughly enjoyed this movie, everything is quirky from the acting to the music. The underwater scenes were done quite nicely, and the soundtrack isn't so bad either...however it's hard to find any other song from the movie other than "Cure" by the Wild Colonials. If you're a fan of Judd Nelson, serial killer movies, and overall cheesy fun, you'll be sure to add this flick to your collection so you can watch it over and over again. If you liked this movie, check out it's sequel...Return to Cabin by the Lake...it's really DEEP! ;)

Despite not being a big production this modest thriller does pack a decent punch. Stanley's character is chilling and bad to the bone. He is borderline insane but we are intrigued by his character and want to see how far he'll take things. If you can overlook some obvious errors this can be a thrilling film. The unique way of killing his victims is certainly memorable and chilling.

This was, by far, the absolute worst movie I have seen in my entire life. I have seen many, many movies, and this is quite possibly the most horrendous of all. My friend and I turned it on at 12 am, and couldn't stop watching it, it was that bad. Had it been just a little less awful, we may have been able to turn it off. It was kind of like watching a car accident - you know you shouldn't stare, but you just can't look away. To anyone desiring to ever see this movie......my friend and I would strongly advise you to find a better activity, but if you watch it, you will be able to fully appreciate true cinematic garbage.

Saw the movie a few nights ago on the Sci-Fi network...Terrific and great actions in the movie. The Scenery was cool. Kind of makes you wonder about people in a way....I really enjoyed the movie and the actors and actresses really outdid themselves in a very convincing way. Thumbs up for this one.....really confirms my fear of water over my head now! LOL!

Cabin by the lake was pure crap! I read the tagline for it, and I thought it might be good, but was I wrong! Judd Nelson's character was on the borderline of funny at the start of the movie, but then he became amazingly annoying! Cabin by the lake was beyond phony, they may have had a few good dummies on the set, but the whole aura of the movie was fakes-ville. Don 't watch cabin by the lake past the first half-hour!

The story line is about a movie writer's idea to make a movie. His movie is about a guy who drowns girls in a lake and makes them a part of his "garden". This garden is just a group of all the girls he has drowned, tied down with giants weights at the bottom of the lake. And occasionally, he'll scuba dive down there to look at them and "tend" to them. I won't give away the ending, but I'll just tell you that it's stupid. Judd Nelson does a good job of being really creepy, but the story is really unrealistic and pretty dumb. It wasn't that great.

If you saw the previews, you don't expect much from this movie. It delivers less. Judd Nelson reprises his persona from BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB, the crazy, soft-spoken, killer role. Generally, I like Nelson, but this is rubish. Plot is very weak. Big plot holes and premise (especially in last scene) is ridiculous. Michael Weatherly, playing the lake cop, was very miscast.

I look for this flick to hatch copy-cat, torture/killing cases. One of those films that you scratch your head and ask, "Why was this made?"

In my opinion, most movies of this sort sink or swim (pardon the pun) based on the villain, and everyone else kind of falls to the wayside. This one swam. This villain was bad (as he should be), yes, but what I liked about Stan is that he really enjoyed his work, and I can somewhat relate to him as I have been dabbling with screenwriting myself. Judd Nelson played him just right, really giving the impression of a regular guy just trying to do his job.

Some other reviewers have questioned the genre classification of this film, and I'd just like to throw in my two cents. I looked up the individual who wrote this film, and he was a guy who had been in Hollywood for a while, so I'm thinking given the whole subplot with Stan's agent and the director, that this may be a dark (VERY dark) satire of Hollywood and the people who try to make a living in that town, much like "Swimming With Sharks", another fine film.

Some other reviewers complained about a lack of explanation as to why Stan does what he does, but I am not one of them. I'm sure Stan had a motive that made sense for him, and those last two words are what is key here: FOR HIM. Sure, we'd all like a reason for what he did, but the makers of this film are under absolutely NO OBLIGATION to tell us what it is. Personally, it made me wonder about his motives, and I found that much more refreshing than whatever motivation that might have been revealed. I mentioned that I am dabbling in screenwriting and one of the books I picked up said that as long as the screenwriter knows why his characters do things, that's all that matters. No one else has to know.

Good well-played villain, a darkly humorous look at the Hollywood system, and some wickedly funny moments add up to a worthwhile film.

The cover of this movie was so deceiving. it was crap, everything, especially the dead bodies looked soo fake. i couldnt even finish it it was so stupid. the actors besides Judd Nelson were horrible, no wonder they werent seen again. If you are looking for something scary dont even touch this movie a barney movie movie was scarier than this. i dont know who approved this movie to be able to go on the shelves but who ever did must have been an old deaf blind man or women. take my word for it dont waste your money. and if you do like this movie then you should really go see a head doctor or something you physco. not just that but then you also arent a real movie lover because the acting was appaling. what a peice of crap i want to jump on it until it dies.

I have to admit, this movie truly did shock me. Within the first five minutes you'll feel totally engrossed by the plot. Most movies will lay it on you in bits and pieces , this one just hammers you immediately then leaves you wondering whats going to happen next.

The audio the video quality was outstanding for what looked like a lower budget film, but the full-screen only DVD bothered me. I'm guessing it was transfered this way because it was originally intended for TV. There was a double DVD released not long ago (Cabin by the Lake, Return to the Cabin by the lake) which can be found at Amazon.com and can also be rented at Blockbuster incase you are interested. (see link at bottom of review for direct Amazon page)

Overall , Judd Nelson does a fantastic job as the main role, the plot wasn't all that thick and sometimes was predictable, but always kept you wondering "Are they next?".

Movie Link : http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00005RDAP/qid16506652/sr=8-1/refsr_8_67_1/002-2048647-8605661

Horror film screenwriter Stanley is actually a serial killer who drowns young women and keeps their corpses at the bottom of a lake, a place that he calls his "garden". I liked this concept, and the underwater scenes with Stan caring for his victims are pretty creepy. The soundtrack heightens the atmosphere. However, at the end of the day this is a cheap looking TV movie with acting that is not going to win any awards and a plot where logic and believability go out of the window. The second half is is slow compared to the first. There is a sequel, it is even worse than this (I scored that 2/10)