The Monster of Phantom Lake

Not a loving homage to monster movies of the 50's. Rather a poorly acted, cheap rip-off of same. Not an original idea either. I know you can view the wooden acting as intentionally camp, but I would have to see any of these players do ANYTHING with skill before I would venture that opinion. Camp is not an excuse for really stilted dialogue delivered stupidly.

The only regret is that this web site requires me to give it one star. It doesn't deserve even that.

Right on the money! Captures all the iconic greatness of 1950's "horror movies" including stilted acting, men in charge while women are perceived as hysterical, tacky costumes, leafy monster & scary location. However the ending is still a little bit of a surprise. One didn't expect the effort so one did not anticipate it!! Great fun. Enjoy!!

After some wonderfully plodding, creepy music, THE MONSTER OF PHANTOM LAKE begins.

When drums of "atomic waste" are heedlessly dumped into the titular body of water, there's more than mere pollution to worry about. Far more. The locals have no idea that horror beyond description awaits! Or, something like that.

Oh no!

A crazy hermit tumbles into the sludge, undergoing a terrible transformation! Soon, a hideous creature arises, spelling d-o-o-m!

TMOPL is Christopher R. Mihm's masterwork of intentionally silly, 1950's-style sci-fi cheeeze. The acting and dialogue are suitably clunky, and the characters- scientists, highly suspect "teens", the canoe patrol, etc. are fun. The bucket-headed monster is as absurd as it's supposed to be, paying homage to actual schlock gems like HORROR OF PARTY BEACH. Mihm loves the genre, and the result is a joy to watch.

EXTRA POINTS FOR: The musical interlude, complete with a theme song that just keeps a rockin', a rollin', and a ramblin'!... Oh yeah!...

"The Monster of Phantom Lake" is a modern parody of 1950s schlock horror films. Because of this, it's filmed in black & white and features many familiar elements from many of the movies...including the know-it-all professor, a group of dopey teens and a monster that looks about as scary as a taco! So why did I give this one only a 3? Well, because to parody genre which is already like a parody isn't really funny...and this film really could have used an infusion of funny. In fact, I had a hard time even paying attention to it.

The same folks appear for a sequel, "It Came From Another World" (2007). Perhaps with this one they found the right balance and it's more enjoyable. As it is, I would much rather just see a cheesy 50s horror film instead of this.

There is a fine line one must stay behind in order to make a spoof of movie genres. The best ones keep a solid element of the original but wander into the outrageous. This film is so far beyond the fifties horror B movie in its adaptation, that it plays everything for comedy. The dialogue is so stilted and the interactions of the characters so unnatural that we forget the plot as they pose and speak. Of course, the monster is utterly ridiculous, looking like it is made out of scraps from someone's sewing basket. I enjoyed it at first and thought it would develop, but it lost me and I just wanted it to end.