A Major Disappointment

A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

Wanna hear something funny? Just a few days ago, I wrote a review for a movie called The Worst Horror Movie Ever Made. Since then, I've gotten my hands on a long, lost VHS tape of what is possibly the rarest shot-on-video Horror movie of the 80's. That's right, kids. Blood Lake. A movie which proves, without a shadow of a doubt, that The Worst Horror Movie Ever Made is light-years away from being the worst Horror movie ever made. If you haven't seen Blood Lake, you couldn't possibly comprehend the utter ineptness of this long, lost treasure of schlock. After many years of obsessively collecting bad Horror, I've got a hold of everything from Criminally Insane, to Gore-met Zombie Chef From Hell, to Better Living Through Killing, but now... Now we're getting somewhere.I'll be honest. I'm still not 100% convinced this is a movie. It really comes off like a bunch of teenagers are spending the weekend at a lake, and one of them brought along his parent's cam-corder. And I'll just go ahead and assume that there was no script. Although, if these people were seriously following a script, then, quite frankly, that's a little disturbing. The acting is so terrible that it really seems like a bunch of awkward teens mumbling to each other, as opposed to actors, who normally speak up, when on camera. Is this snuff-schlock?? 2 awkward teen couples, and their tag-along pre-teen couple, make their way down to the lake, for a weekend of keen 80's fun. Only one of these people make this garbage truly worth it. Enter li'l Tony. Li'l Tony is gonna get with his chick, this weekend, just like the big boys, even if his little 12 year-old life depends on it. And of course he believes that if he constantly talks about sex, and is obnoxious as all hell, then he's just gonna magically start puberty, and his chick is gonna start showing interest. I'm rooting for ya, little fella.After nearly an hour of these poor kids pretending to know one another, pretending to be drunk, pretending to be regular, pretending to flirt, and just totally embarrassing themselves, something resembling a story... I don't know, a killer, or something. Whatever he is, he does his thing at night. Which would be fine, if there had been some form of lighting. This could have been the gore-fest to end all gore-fests, and you would never know it.Even after the teen couples learn of these alleged murders, I'm not even sure there was ever a discussion about whether or not they should all just go home. In one of many confusing scenes, an argument breaks out one evening after one couple decides to go out and take a walk. Every time someone raises their voice, the background music gets louder, So, it doesn't matter how good your seeing and hearing is, you'll still only catch about 1/3 of this spectacular joke of a movie.At times, it's painfully obvious that some of these people just don't know what to say. Going so far as to just repeat what the other person said to them. Somehow, they manage to do a better job at acting scared than normal, which I find incredibly odd. All the mumbling, not-so-well-thought-out wise-cracks, and scenes involving everyone talking at once, will no doubt entertain those who "get" this type of Horror.Wanna hear something funny? I actually rented this movie, from Blockbuster (of all places) in the early 90's, when I was a kid. My first s.o.v. experience. I wasn't exactly pleased with my choice for the nights entertainment. I thought to myself "you've done it again". I wasn't even that curious as to how something like this could come to exist. All I knew was that I didn't approve. I was still a bit too young to see the beauty in a movie this terrible. Luckily, over the years, my liking for bad Horror would eventually grow into a full-blown passion. So, last year, I look up Blood Lake on Amazon. Much to my surprise, I actually found it. But get this, the most expensive copy was nearly 1,000 bucks. Seriously, do you people have any clue as to how much bad Horror (which hasn't been released on DVD) can go for, these days? Something to think about. Here's something else to think about. Just because you like low-budget Horror, doesn't mean you're gonna approve of Blood Lake. But if you're one of those collectors, who often wonders exactly how far the bottom of the barrel goes, this will be an educational experience. Ultimately, this legendary low in acting, the complete ineptness of the whole movie, and of course, li'l Tony make Blood Lake more entertaining than all the Friday The 13th movies combined, which isn't that big of a deal, but still. I may have yet again stumbled upon what may or may not be the worst cinema has ever seen, or ever will see. And for that alone, Blood Lake will forever hold a special place in my heart. And I'm sure, deep down, Blockbuster feels the exact same way. 9/10

Another late 80's routine teen-slasher picture like there were at least fifteen per dozen around that time. "Blood Lake" distinguishes itself from the rest in absolutely … nothing! Prepare yourself to endure insufferable jock characters, overlong padding footage of teens water-surfing to the tunes of horrible pop music, bloodless massacres, copious WTF dialogs, lousy and shaky video-shot photography and sheer annoyance. Six incredibly irritating teenagers, two of them who have barely hit puberty, set out for a holiday resort near a lake. Before the opening credits, there was a brief sequence indicating the presence of a knife-wielding killer in the region, but he doesn't make a move until late in the film. "Blood Lake" is boring beyond words without any noteworthy highlight. Not even a boob-shot or an imaginative murder. These most be the most boring circle of friends ever, since all they do in the evening is sit around a table and murmur the entire time! There a sequence like this that goes on for nearly 9 whole minutes, I kid you not! I have nothing else to share on "Blood Lake" except the message: do not watch it. This dud found a spot in my list of absolute worst 80's slashers alongside: "Don't Go in the Woods", "Deadly Games", "Appointment with Fear", "Berserker", "Cardiac Arrest", "Hollow Gate", "The Stay Awake", "Blood Tracks" and "Hide and Go Shriek".

OK so I can agree with the other comment about the lake scene, yes it is like 15 min long. Also In the beginning for the opening scene for the credits all they show is the trans am driving on the road for like 10 or 15 min. That is way too long for a opening act! I mean yeah we get the point that there is a trans am with kids going to a lake. The killings in the movie are a big disappointment, all it is, is a guy walking around in cowboy boots. The acting is horrible and the movie is a big waist of time. I am a HUGE fan of the 80's slasher films, especially Friday the 13th. They even filmed it with a home video, so the lighting was horrible and was very shaky. Well I'd say I have to give it at least a 1 out of 10, for being part of the 80's slasher genre for at least trying. I just hope that they don't ever make a movie like this again.

Lets get one thing straight. I know that the on the box the artwork at the video store may be a little misleading but we are watching a home-made movie. It's not The Shining, Psycho, or any other masterpiece. It was filmed at cedar lake in Oklahoma(I Think?). You can hear the locusts in the background. The scenery looks really good. The actors are extremely amature with regional accents but are using realistic dialog(realistic for a bunch of kids camping at the lake). There are thousands of bloopers throught the movie. One was a dead body who had one arm tied to a tree and the other holding on to a branch. This is one talented dead body. Another was a joint someone was smoking that didn't emit any smoke. I thought the story with the two 12 year olds was really funny. There is a so bad it's good element to this movie but the better elements are the 80's slasher themes. This movie is not scary but is enjoyable. Movies that are getting made now are not half as good as movies made in this era; I prefer this film over Leprechaun in da hood or the Halloween webcam movie. This movie shows us that anyone who owns a camcorder can make a movie.