The Lake

I was pretty hyped up for the film after I saw the trailer, unfortunately there wasn't a whole lot to back up my optimism. A lot of the dialogue is clunky and doesn't make sense, and it's pretty obvious whoever translated this put it through a machine without paying attention to the results. Some of the name changes were also very questionable like giving the characters American sounding names which honestly took me out of it. The plot is rushed but the movie itself is filled with plenty of filler scenes where the monster is just standing there. To its credit, that monster looks awesome and were well above many low-budget American monster movies so well done in that regard. Other than that, there's nothing to really keep holding your interest.

I recently watched the Thai film 🇹🇭 The Lake (2022) on Prime. The storyline follows a small lakeside town terrorized by a monstrous creature after its eggs are disturbed. As the creature goes on a killing spree, the government quarantines the area, leaving the locals as the only ones who can stop it.

Directed by Lee Thongkham (Kitty the Killer), the film stars Chartchai Ketnust (The Mother), Sushar Manaying (The Couple), and Vithaya Pansringarm (Only God Forgives).

From start to finish, this is one of those films where you constantly find yourself rolling your eyes at the characters' decisions. Despite a family subplot, there's little reason to care about what happens to anyone. The CGI is decent, the monster design is cool, and the film has a strong Gamera-like vibe, for better or worse. The horror elements are entirely CGI-driven, and while the premise is straightforward, the execution lacks depth. This is really only enjoyable for diehard monster movie fans looking for something new.

In conclusion, The Lake has some fun monster moments but lacks the storytelling to make it a genuinely good film. I'd rate it a 4/10 and only recommend it with the appropriate expectations.

Ever had minimal expectations for a movie and still come out disappointed? That's what I got for "The Lake", a giant monster movie from Thailand. I remember seeing the trailer months ago and thought it looked nice. Too bad the nice shine is from a shallow pool. The plot is simple: an egg is found along with a human-sized amphibian creature that goes on a killing spree before being captured. Big momma shows up to find both, throwing the townsfolk into chaos.

The most positive thing about this film is the effects. There's a great blend of CGI and practical effects with the big creature in particular primarily displayed via a massive animatronic reminiscent of the T-rex from "Jurassic Park", all of which looks impressive. The design isn't bad either, slightly humanoid but mostly having fish-like traits. Can't say the same for the rest of the film. There's a smidge of potential with the human characters, who have strained relationships with their families, which contrasts the creature trying to save its offspring. Too bad none of the characters are worth a crap since we barely know anything about them or have time to let them breathe. The constant screaming from the crowds gets so annoying it makes Ann Darrow from "King Kong" seem soft spoken by comparison. Aside from the initial attack scene, there's hardly any action and the beasts do very little; the big monster doesn't even smash any buildings or fight the authorities. Most crippling of all is the horrendous pacing. The movie's 90 minutes long yet it feels twice that much with multiple scenes going on far too long and being uneventful. It bored me out of my mind. There's an English dub, but it's pretty sloppily executed compared to other East Asian films I've seen. Also, the story doesn't really take place on a lake, much less make it a major focus, so add misleading title to the list of sins.

"The Lake" is yet another example of how good effects can never top good writing and direction. Give this a hard pass. If you want a better version of a story where a giant rampaging monster seeks to save its young, watch the 1961 British flick "Gorgo".

With a humongous and deliciously gooey-looking monster on a film poster, you can seduce pretty much every fan of old-fashioned horror! Purely based on the poster image, I fell for "The Lake" like President Clinton would fall for a plump intern secretary, and I did whatever it took to be present at the Belgian Festival premiere, even though I had just injured my leg. Isn't that dedication?

Of course, being a horror fanatic since several decades already, I'm also very much aware that posters can be very misleading, and that even the most promising looking monster-movies can turn out to become massive disappointments. "The Lake" certainly isn't a massive disappoint, but I can relate to where the negative and harsh reviews thus far are coming from.

Let's start with the good! The monster(s) look awesome! They can be best described as crossbreeds between Godzilla, the T-Rex from the original "Jurassic Park", the man-thing from "Creature from Black Lagoon" and the ugly beast from the low-budget flick "Zaat" (which probably nobody else has seen). And the monsters receive plenty of screentime, so you can admire them in all their glorious cheesiness! That's another big advantage of "The Lake", by the way, nobody in their right state of mind can claim this film is boring. The monster-action kickstarts right at the beginning and remains at a high and fast-paced level throughout the film. Purely speaking in terms of B-movie entertainment, "The Lake" undeniably delivers.

Unfortunately, there's always a negative flipside as well, and the biggest deficiencies of "The Lake" are to be found in the scenario department as well as in the lack of experience/overview of the young & over-excited director Lee Thonkham. A creature-feature like this doesn't really require an in-depth or intelligent screenplay, but Thonkham nevertheless manages to ruin the basic standards. For some reason, he adds a sort of spiritual connection between the monsters and two of the lead characters, which doesn't bring any value whatsoever. Important characters keep disappearing and re-appearing, and the last 15-20 minutes of the film are a complete mess, and this easily could have been avoided. Secondly, and I blame Thonkham's young age and lack of experience for this, the editing is incredibly hectic and incoherent. At some points, "The Lake" is a non-stop spitfire of short shots (approximately 30 sec), clumsy handheld-camera footage, and completely unnatural camera angles. Perhaps a slightly too ambitious project for a beginning director, but I definitely want to see how he evolves.

PS: two things I learned about Thailand by watching this movie: there is a lot of seriously heavy rainfall, and everybody drives a pick-up truck. Insightful!

If you are looking for a good movie to show the quality of Thai Cinema and this is not it. It's such a mess I don't know where to begin. I can't blame the English subtitles - although they are a bit strange with English culturalisms.. like the police officer acknowledging a radio call by saying "roger that." So there is this monster that apparently lives in the lake and kills scores of people. Fairly decent EFX...but the story is well, full of holes and hard to follow. And the ending.. what the? There is a side story with two university researchers...who disappear after appearing.. and then come back in the end with the answer of what the monster is looking for. And somehow they are allowed into the hospital to view records and interview patients as well as access to the police chief... because they say they want to help? Every, and I mean every, confrontation scene with the monster is overlong.