First a word of warning. If you're not a regular viewer of low/no-budget horror films, you need to approach Ghost Lake with caution. Does Sub Rosa mean anything to you? Are you familiar with Brentwood/BCI Eclipse? If you're answering "yes" to these questions, I strongly recommend that you see Ghost Lake. It is one of the better films in its class. If not, I don't suggest starting your low/no-budget horror education here. The genre takes a fair amount of acclimation. There's a good chance that you won't like the film, at least until you've seen a number of films like Back Woods (2001), The Seekers (2003), and Back from Hell (1993).
Ghost Lake is the story of Rebecca Haster (Tatum Adair). As the film opens, Rebecca is attending the funeral of her parents. We learn through a flashback that her parents died accidentally, and that Rebecca blames herself for their demise. Circumstances were such that if she had been home sooner--when she had promised her mother that she would be home, she probably could have prevented the accident. After the funeral, she begins to think that she's seeing the ghosts of her parents. So she decides to head up to the family cabin at Rushford Lake in upstate New York. Driving near there, she almost runs into a young man, Stan James (Timothy Prindle). She ends up giving him a lift, as his cabin in close to hers.
But the getaway isn't stopping Rebecca's possibly supernatural experiences. In fact they're getting worse. Just what is going on at "Ghost Lake"?
In disagreement with the consensus view of this film, Ghost Lake features decent performances. Again, that has to be contextualized. You can't expect Shakespearean acting here, or even Lord of the Rings-styled acting. Who would want that, anyway? That kind of acting in a horror film makes me think of something like Interview with the Vampire (1994), a film I don't care for very much. Yes, most of the actors in Ghost Lake come across as occasionally amateurish, but most of the time, the principal cast members do a remarkably good job. Adair, James and two other actors--Gregory Lee Kenyon as Sheriff Dobbs and Azure Sky Decker as Flora/Saundra Thompson--have to carry the film and they do so convincingly. The performances are as good as those in many high budget horror films. Horror isn't exactly a genre with a reputation for fine performances, but if you're a fan of the genre, you probably like that style of acting a bit.
More remarkably, director/writer/composer/editor Jay Woelfel creates and sustains a very effective atmosphere throughout the film. He evidences a great understanding of, knack for and love of the horror genre. The beginning of the film is unnerving right off the bat, especially with its relatively unique approach to juxtaposing sex and death. Woelfel quickly establishes Rebecca as a bit odd and emotionally off-center. His early "ghost" scenarios are creepy, and once Rebecca gets to the cabin on the lake, the atmosphere gets even better. Woelfel knows how to light his locations for maximum eeriness. He knows how to effectively shoot at night (something very rare at this level of film-making). He has excellent pacing, and again, his construction of creepy scenarios is consistently high quality. He also effectively increases the intensity and suspense levels. I suppose Woelfel's skill shouldn't be surprising in light of the fact that this is the 41st film he's worked on in some capacity.
The story exhibits an interesting combination of influences, although insofar as it is a ghost story, it's remarkably unique. There are no Amityville Horror (1979) clichés here. Instead, the precursors range from In Dreams (1999) to the Friday the 13th (1980) series to George Romero-influenced zombie films. Woelfel also has more purely stylistic influences, including Dario Argento. There's even a strong early 1970s European horror influence in the music.
Unfortunately, the Argento influence seems to have carried over to Woelfel's script. The first two-thirds of the plot are extremely engaging--there's almost a Stephen King vibe happening--with a couple minor glitches that are easy to overlook, but the plot becomes increasingly incoherent during the last third. It seems as if Woelfel may have rushed to finish the story and/or left the last section of the script in a rough draft stage and/or made a lot of changes to the story while filming. By the end, I was fairly confused about just what was going on, about the "rules of the game", and especially about the metaphysics of the supernatural stuff. If if weren't for this late game script misstep, Ghost Lake would have ended up with at least an 8 from me.
Another commonly criticized element of the film has been the effects. That seems completely out of line to me. Many films at this budget level solve the problem by just not having any effects. That's not the case here. Woelfel gives us plenty of well-done, superbly integrated practical, special make-up effects, "creature" designs and computer-generated effects. The CGI is rougher, but the balance works well. Of course, many of the effects look "fake", but that's the case with all effects to me, even in The Lord of the Rings. The point isn't to fool us into thinking what we're seeing is real. If you know how effects are done, you won't be fooled. The point is to present something artistically effective. Woelfel does that with no problem.
This film deserves a serious look from viewers who appreciate the full range of filmic artworks. Despite the few flaws, Ghost Lake is very enjoyable and shows a lot of promise from all involved.
Ghost Lake is the story of Rebecca Haster (Tatum Adair). As the film opens, Rebecca is attending the funeral of her parents. We learn through a flashback that her parents died accidentally, and that Rebecca blames herself for their demise. Circumstances were such that if she had been home sooner--when she had promised her mother that she would be home, she probably could have prevented the accident. After the funeral, she begins to think that she's seeing the ghosts of her parents. So she decides to head up to the family cabin at Rushford Lake in upstate New York. Driving near there, she almost runs into a young man, Stan James (Timothy Prindle). She ends up giving him a lift, as his cabin in close to hers.
But the getaway isn't stopping Rebecca's possibly supernatural experiences. In fact they're getting worse. Just what is going on at "Ghost Lake"?
In disagreement with the consensus view of this film, Ghost Lake features decent performances. Again, that has to be contextualized. You can't expect Shakespearean acting here, or even Lord of the Rings-styled acting. Who would want that, anyway? That kind of acting in a horror film makes me think of something like Interview with the Vampire (1994), a film I don't care for very much. Yes, most of the actors in Ghost Lake come across as occasionally amateurish, but most of the time, the principal cast members do a remarkably good job. Adair, James and two other actors--Gregory Lee Kenyon as Sheriff Dobbs and Azure Sky Decker as Flora/Saundra Thompson--have to carry the film and they do so convincingly. The performances are as good as those in many high budget horror films. Horror isn't exactly a genre with a reputation for fine performances, but if you're a fan of the genre, you probably like that style of acting a bit.
More remarkably, director/writer/composer/editor Jay Woelfel creates and sustains a very effective atmosphere throughout the film. He evidences a great understanding of, knack for and love of the horror genre. The beginning of the film is unnerving right off the bat, especially with its relatively unique approach to juxtaposing sex and death. Woelfel quickly establishes Rebecca as a bit odd and emotionally off-center. His early "ghost" scenarios are creepy, and once Rebecca gets to the cabin on the lake, the atmosphere gets even better. Woelfel knows how to light his locations for maximum eeriness. He knows how to effectively shoot at night (something very rare at this level of film-making). He has excellent pacing, and again, his construction of creepy scenarios is consistently high quality. He also effectively increases the intensity and suspense levels. I suppose Woelfel's skill shouldn't be surprising in light of the fact that this is the 41st film he's worked on in some capacity.
The story exhibits an interesting combination of influences, although insofar as it is a ghost story, it's remarkably unique. There are no Amityville Horror (1979) clichés here. Instead, the precursors range from In Dreams (1999) to the Friday the 13th (1980) series to George Romero-influenced zombie films. Woelfel also has more purely stylistic influences, including Dario Argento. There's even a strong early 1970s European horror influence in the music.
Unfortunately, the Argento influence seems to have carried over to Woelfel's script. The first two-thirds of the plot are extremely engaging--there's almost a Stephen King vibe happening--with a couple minor glitches that are easy to overlook, but the plot becomes increasingly incoherent during the last third. It seems as if Woelfel may have rushed to finish the story and/or left the last section of the script in a rough draft stage and/or made a lot of changes to the story while filming. By the end, I was fairly confused about just what was going on, about the "rules of the game", and especially about the metaphysics of the supernatural stuff. If if weren't for this late game script misstep, Ghost Lake would have ended up with at least an 8 from me.
Another commonly criticized element of the film has been the effects. That seems completely out of line to me. Many films at this budget level solve the problem by just not having any effects. That's not the case here. Woelfel gives us plenty of well-done, superbly integrated practical, special make-up effects, "creature" designs and computer-generated effects. The CGI is rougher, but the balance works well. Of course, many of the effects look "fake", but that's the case with all effects to me, even in The Lord of the Rings. The point isn't to fool us into thinking what we're seeing is real. If you know how effects are done, you won't be fooled. The point is to present something artistically effective. Woelfel does that with no problem.
This film deserves a serious look from viewers who appreciate the full range of filmic artworks. Despite the few flaws, Ghost Lake is very enjoyable and shows a lot of promise from all involved.