Lake Artifact

What you have here with this movie is a nice effort that doesn't let its low budget hinder its production quality. The movie is directed and shot very well and the actors are outstanding in their roles. The score is basic but it manages to do the job it was intended for. If I have one complaint with this it would be the script. It isn't bad by any means at all but it feels like the concept could have been explored just a little better for a slightly more coherent story, even if it feels like ambiguity was intended. Ambiguity and coherence don't have to be mutually exclusive and this movie would have benefited greatly from the latter.

Still. I can't say that the minor flaws take away from an enjoyable and somewhat unique sci-fi experience.

I do like scenes nowadays where people are walking along train tracks all in bloody clothes. Reminds me of mid-series Walking Dead episodes where the train tracks were all so relevant to the story. But that's how this opens....

And then I suppose we regress, backwards in the story.......

-1 Star for the dumb beer drinking 'dance' scene...what lame music was that anyway??? Derrr............

What was with the weird water bottle drinkage? I've never seen a human drink a bottle of water like that.

Okay so when they find a picture of the group of them that they had not taken YET, is when the hilarity begins.........

-1 Star when the 2 idiots go outside to LOOK for 'the guy' Huh? Poor acting, poor dialogue. Poor story choices......

Then the story gets bizarre, dreams, walking in circles..... lots of confusion. And one female character goes off the rails really for no apparent reason.....

This whole place is a loop TOMMY!!!!!!

+1 Star for when Black dude screams like a girl lol I think the hilarity that was the last few minutes of the movie saves it from the toilet bowl really.

If ever there was a case for why a man wandering thru the woods should always carry a case of BEER with him, this is it.

4/10

30 minutes. That's when the film actually starts, and when it does, it's a mess and feels very much like a live-action Scooby-Doo episode. The plot is set around a cabin/plot of land where time is in a constant loop and everything that can is and ha's happened, that make sense? Sort of? Yeah well so does this film. The concept itself is nothing new as there are lots of versions of this type of story out there.

I can't help but feel as though this film tries to come across smarter than it actually is and that the writers had an idea for an ending of the film and kind of wrote backwards from there with no real direction. I get the concept, I understand who is who and what is going on so PLEASE stop explaining everything to me several times.

Plot holes; It's all one big plot hole really. The 'connecting of dots' to unravel the great mysteries and the 'big reveals' either make NO SENSE and are seemingly thrown in there for reasons I can only imagine were thought up by the creators breathing in their own farts, OR they were painfully obvious ages before it was explained.

Characters motivations; Aren't any. Seriously, The only person who made any sense was Timmy and even he had zero development. Everybody else has moments that set up a sub plot or story arch that go no-where and just leave you scratching your head on confusion (looking at you especially Megan)

And finally, I honestly could not tell if this film was attempting to be a comedy half of the time, a large portion of the acting and dialogue actually gave me a real belly-laugh because of how silly and satirical it came across.

Having said that, I've just ordered a McDonald's from Uber Eats, so it's not all bad.

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.

Well to say this is utterly nonsensical would be an understatement! I can imagine the confusion from the filmmakers at the meetings with cast and crew having to constantly explain what number loop they are in on any particular day ! The ending, well what can I say, by this stage the viewer would have a brain ache and be on the gin !