Gripping story with well-crafted characters

Charming and brutal

It isn't all that great, actually. Really cheesy and very predicable of how certain scenes are gonna turn play out. However, I guess that's the charm of it all, because I would consider this one of my guilty pleasures.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

A trio of American World War II vets take a hunting trip in the rural Canadian woods where they find out the American caretaker of the place they are staying is a Vietnam deserter (David Huffman). Thanks to a lot of alcohol and the influence of the embittered, flag-waving leader of trio (Rod Steiger), what starts out as a mere "generation gap" political disagreement, quickly escalates into a violent, armed conflict.Rod Steiger is excellent as the vicious leader of the veterans whose blind patriotism and narrow-minded prejudices leave almost everyone in the cast dead by the end. His more weak-willed friends are only along for the ride at first, but they too are quickly caught up in the escalating violence. And adding no small amount of fuel to the fire is Robin Mattson, as the Huffman character's sexy girlfriend. Playing an only slightly more sympathetic variation on the malicious tease she played in her most famous film "Bonnie's Kids", her character takes her showers outdoors, even with all the drunken, dirty old men lingering about, and when she catches Steiger staring at her bra-less chest, she tauntingly lifts up her shirt to give him a better look at her yummy breasts. This is not to say she deserves what happens to her--the tragedy here is that all the characters are actually sympathetic to SOME extent, even if only Huffman approaches ever really being too likable.With several gun battles, a gang rape, a wilderness chase, and lots of explosions, this works pretty well as a violent action movie. But it is one of those dark, cynical 70's ones like "Deliverance", "Southern Comfort", or "Who'll Stop the Rain?" that show only the ultimate futility and stupidity of violence. Definitely recommended, especially to fans of Rod Steiger, Robin Mattson, and/or downbeat 70's-era action fare.

Ex-commander Steiger and three of his army buddies go to Canada for a little duck hunting.Steiger,grieving for his son lost in the Vietnam War, gets ballistic when he finds out that Huffman,who's running the camp,is a deserter.A violent shootout occurs as Steiger and his friends go after Huffman and his girlfriend Mattson with tragic results."Wolf Lake" plays like an exciting mix of "Deliverance","Straw Dogs" and "Open Season".It's a tense and extremely well-acted survival thriller with some great scenes of violence.The shootout begins after the rape of Huffman's girlfriend.So if you are a fan of survival cinema you can't miss "Wolf Lake".It's a crying shame that such obscure Canadian movies are still unavailable on DVD.9 out of 10.

A couple of middle aged war buddies led by Charlie arrive at Wolf Lake for their annual hunting trip, but the guy they were suppose to meet isn't there, but instead there's a young man, David and his girlfriend who are care-taking the resort. When Charlie finds out David was a deserter in the Vietnam War. Hate builds up within, as he lost his son in Vietnam and he takes it upon himself to hand out the punishment for fleeing his commitments. If there's a sorely under-valued and truly forgotten pearler, "Wolf Lake" is one of those sleepers that should have a wider audience. It might be far from perfect, as the project has some teetering problems, but for most part it's an adeptly crafted and hauntingly cerebral picture. The problem area mostly arose from the oddly placed flash forward sequences that cut in and out within the narrative. This aspect certainly spoiled what's about to come and clouded the story with confusion. Feels like we the viewer are missing out on details. Actually it begins with the ending, so it's not terribly surprising in the final outcome. But reading a fellow user's review on the flick, it has made interested in seeing the supposed re-edited "The Honor Guard". As the choppy editing that was worked in was the only thing that dampened the film's edge. Despite knowing what was going to happen, Burt Kennedy's sedately crisp direction was a ticking time bomb waiting to explode with the burning tension and scathing actions coming to the forefront in the closing half. Building up to this riveting game of cat and mouse was made possible by a studiously pressure filled script and a sensationally barnstorming lead turn by Rod Steiger. He really does get into his relentlessly, hot-headed character, but its hard to really despise him as the torment really shows in his face and we watch as it tears him apart. Whenever he and David Huffman's character (David) share the screen watch how intensely gripping their confrontations become and how they feed the film's fire. It's a conflict of two generations just waiting to crack over their opinions of the changing face of America. The bleakly threatening atmosphere spun out from the beautiful lakeside backdrop and isolated woodlands was made to great use and a stirring music score truly does hold a lethal sting in its rhythm. All the rich performances are well grounded and focused. David Huffman as the placid-minded young man David is convincing and a lovely Robin Mattson plays hapless Linda. Jerry Hardin superbly plays the concerned and always consciousness Wilbur. His character is the little voice that Charlie would here if something he was doing didn't sit to well. Richard Herd and Paul Mantee do well in their parts. If your expecting a rough revenge / survival exploitation vehicle amongst a familiar setting. Its starts off with a lot innuendo and then some disturbing moments (like rape) show up. There's way more too it and gladly so. Kennedy fleshes out the situation with a diverse range of traits fusing together with excellent suspense and convicted performances. A couple hiccups can't stop this stimulating potboiler from deserving to be picked out of obscurity. Admirers of Steiger or Kennedy shouldn't miss out on this one. Recommended.

Melvin Simon tried to release this film as WOLF LAKE (with bad ending), but that version kept having flashback and flash forward scenes, and kind of made the film confusing. Later, re-edited and fixed in 1980 as HONOR GUARDS(with a good ending). The film has Steiger and his WW2 buddies going on a trip up in the cabin, which is run by a Vietnam draft dodger (Huffman, who was real life murdered by a 16 year old mugger in 1980, who got off real easy for murder) and his girlfriend (Matteson). Steiger's son was killed in Nam and blames it on Huffman. Violence and rape occurs in end in this suspenseful film. I don't know what ending Burt Kennedy, and even Steiger had wanted for the film. Steiger, who really gets into his character, gives one of the best performance of his career.