Lake Alice

Wow, I really have no idea what movie some of the positive reviewers were watching here. This movie that clocks in at barely 80mins was painful to get through. Awkward acting, terrible editing...just bad all round.

Firstly the "action" really doesn't begin until about 65 minutes into the film at which point you're thinking to yourself "when is everything going to happen?, "At what point are people going to start dying?" By the time this does start occurring, you really don't care. I personally WANTED these unlikable characters to die..

The editing in the last 30 minutes...will make you care even less about the outcome, characters pop in and out at different environments, even for a horror, I was like "how the hell did they get here?" "Characters act more moronically than they usually would in a horror, and that's saying something. The poster of this movie looked great, hence my reason for watching it...but as the saying goes, 'Don't judge a book by its cover'...in this case, the cover is way better than the content.

As for spoilers...whatever you do, don't read the IMDb "Storyline" it essentially gives away the "big reveal" and I'm assuming the viewers who watched this movie and stated it was an unpredictable ending, hadn't read this...not that one really needs to, to guess who the killer may be.

I spent equal parts of this movie laughing and cringing. The writing wasn't horrible but the sound and effects were pretty bad which I don't usually mind in a good slasher movie. Obviously a low low budget movie. I barely made it through it. I don't know who plays the lead in this but I don't remember the last time I witnessed such atrocious acting. It's definitely not something I would watch a second time but on a slow Wednesday night it was alright. I wouldn't recommend it for your movie night unless you are slasher film fanatic. Lots to pick apart and laugh about but nothing to scare, shock or surprise you.

Perhaps because I am a big fan of the Horror Genra I was (literally) able to predict the Killer in this film 8 minutes into it. That may be hard to believe but if you have watched as many horror films as I have, it wasn't hard. There is a slight twist which I won't disclose and spoil it for anyone so I will simply give my perspective.

I think a "5" rating is justified for this film but may be a little generous. Acting, story line, plot and sound were sub par. Twist endings are always enjoyable but this one was a bit too much. If you have to take a simple formula used 100's of times in a Horror/Thriller and add one more factor to it to say "it's original", then anyone with $25,000 can produce an "original" film I suppose. This does not, an original film, make.

If you use your head a little and pay attention to the characters introduced in the first 10 minutes of the film any true Horror fan with half a brain will see who the Killer is, quite obviously. Pay close attention to facial expressions and subtract the obvious. That is how I guessed it right probably less then 8 minutes in.

To that end, I would not "Dead-Pan" the movie completely, but, don't spend a dime on an On-Demand order or theater viewing of this film. Wait a couple months to buy it in the $3 bin at your local Walmart or Grocery store. That I would recommend.

I have never seen such a poor, so called horror film, lots of over the top screaming and very little action or story line. Very predictable victims and very predictable assassins. A child of 11 could create a better script.The film only lasts 75 minutes and believe me, that is the only good point. If you have an hour and a quarter to spare, do not use it watching this movie. You will regret it.

Lake Alice (2018) is available on Tubi and tells the tale of a family who decides to go to their cabin for Christmas. As they head into town to get supplies they meet some old friends and locals from their years coming to the area to staying in the cabin. On Christmas Eve strange things start happening around them leading to their first Christmas at the cabin possibly being their last...

This movie is directed by Ben Milliken in his directorial debut and stars Brando Eaton (Dexter), Peter O'Brien (The Return), Michael Shamus Wiles (Fight Club), Laura Niemi (The Who Wish Me Dead) and Caroline Tudor (Mortal Kombat Legacy).

The storyline for this movie had potential but takes too long establishing the characters rather than getting going. This is a 78 minute movie and nothing happens for the first 46. The kill scenes are bad, without gore and contain sound effects that sound like they were taken from a cartoon. The acting is also mediocre to bad. I did like the final resolve but it was too little too late.

Overall this is a disappointing Christmas horror movie that could have been better written in and executed. I would score this a 3/10 and recommend skipping it.