Lake Artifact

Watched this on a complete whim from Tubi, not expecting much. But time paradox/manipulation movies have always been a niche of mine.

The songs used are few and far between, but used to great effect (if you're into that style, granted.) 20 mins in and we've met our cast, some drunken college times have been had, and things are set to take a turn for the strange.

I wont get into details, but felt by the end most of my questions had been answered. The movie contains some elements of other time Paradox notables (Coherence, Triangle, and a dash of Time Crimes), not that I'd view this as a bad thing. And it finds it's own sort of take on it all by the end.

The movie made incredible work of what I imagine is low to no budget. And for what I assume is a cast of unknowns (think I recognized one), I felt they worked adequately, and if anything their less known status made them seem more "real" and authentic (IMO).

I try to limit reviews lately, I am no "professional critic" nor pretend to be, but felt compelled to say those into films like COHERENCE and TRIANGLE may, I hope, enjoy this and entertain adding it to the still rather niche realm of time Paradox movies

7/10 for me, rises above neutral/lukewarm (5) and slight positive (6).

Ok so gather up some friends and make popcorn and get a bottle of quality whiskey. Every time someone says "You want a beer?" take a shot. If you are at the pro level you can take an additional shot every time the editor drops in that ridiculously loud can opening sound (thankfully we are spared the follow-on loud swirly pouring into a glass). When you can't take it anymore - which won't be long - switch over to Triangle and watch a real movie.

This film is very similar to Mine Games (2012) if not almost exactly the same, but this is better acted and the story more interesting. I just feel like it could have been a little longer and explained a little better. This type of storyline is quite complex and it needs to be explained properly.

And I do not agree with the review about the 'token black actor'. I think the actor Thomas Brazzle was fantastic and very funny. It's not often you get good acting in these low budget horrors and I think he was brilliant. The actor Dylan Grunn was also amazing. Two fine actors there.

I enjoyed this film from the opening credits right through to the end. It's nicely photographed and well acted. Certainly the story contains some challenges for the viewer - at the start of the film information comes in from all angles, but stay with it and it assembles into a good story.

Oh boy. What to say on this one. I'm leaving it a 5 and it's almost painful to do it because the moments that are great in this movie really are great but the ones that aren't significantly drag it down.

As you've already seen in other reviews, this movie deals with separate timelines. It does it in a way that is somewhat unique and I appreciate what writer and director Bruce Wemple set out to achieve, but it feels like he either didn't quite understand his own concept or didn't have the time to flesh it out. Where most indie movies could use some time shaved off of them, this is a rare example where I feel like we could have easily had another 15 to 20 minutes added on to really develop this story, or maybe we could have lost the nearly 20 minutes of "buildup". I appreciate a story taking its time in the beginning for character development but this bit did little for developing its characters and until the end their characteristics are nearly indistinguishable.

The cinematography is another thing that aggravated me throughout because at times it was simply splendid and at others it was painful to look at. How do you get something so right in one moment and so wrong at others? This question is the one I found myself asking with so many pieces of this puzzle.

The one thing that is never off course is the acting. Bravo to every performer in this movie, as they all did very well in their respective roles and the performances all felt natural and comfortable.

Overall, this isn't a terrible movie by any means. It has some genuine humor and some legitimately frightening bits to it as well. At times the differing styles don't always mix the way they should but there was only one moment where it completely took me out. I can't decide if this movie was too ambitious for its own good or not ambitious enough, which is also strange. This entire thing it a conundrum that I would neither recommend for or against.

I'll be interested in seeing where Wemple goes from here.