Zombie Lake (DVD)

Author's product rating:   

Did you enjoy it?	Liked it
Story	Satisfactory
Characters / Performances	Unmemorable
Special Effects	Weak
How does it compare to similar films?	Satisfactory

Advantages:	Different to other zombie movies .  Nice scenery .
Disadvantages:	Bad dubbing, poor special effects

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

A foreign horror movie, Zombie Lake is a French/Spanish production which was filmed in France. The original language was French, but this DVD version has been dubbed into English.

The original French title for the movie was 'Le Lac de Mortes Vivante', which translates to 'The Lake Of The Living Dead'. As this suggests, as well as the English title 'Zombie Lake', this film is centered around a lake which is cursed, and is home to some blood-hungry undead.

The plot basically begins with the disappearance and killings of multiple female victims. When bodies are found, each victim has been bitten in the throat. The town's mayor is an expert in local history, and it is revealed that during World War II, the French Resistance ambushed and slaughtered a small Nazi patrol which passed nearby the town. To avoid detection, the French Resistance dumped the Nazi corpses into the lake. Now the mayor fears the worst, and that the 'ghosts of the lake' have returned to seek revenge against the town.

A sub-plot within the movie involves one of the Nazi soldiers who has returned as one of the undead. During the war, the soldier helped defend a young french woman during an air attack, and was injured while shielding her from harm. Once recovered, he had an affair with the woman, which ended in her becoming pregnant. A daughter was born, and though the mother died soon after the birth, the daughter remains in the town - the same town the Nazi soldier now haunts. Still having loving memory of his daughter, this one zombie, together with his young daughter, influence the final outcome of the movie.

So, what is the film like. The dubbing is not the best in the world, and some of the translations from French to English are comical. In some places the actor's mouths are still moving even though the English words have been sounded. Some people may find this irritating, others will find it quite entertaining. Also, the special effects leave a lot to be desired. They are not the worst zombie effects I've seen (that title goes to 'Zombie Nation'), but they are pretty poor. The make-up literally amounts to green and red paint slapped onto the hands and faces of the Nazi zombies, with the odd bit of rubber flapping about to simulate tears in the skin, etc. As with most 1980's horror films, the acting is also not of the best calibre. No Oscar nominations for these guys. However, this is to be expected with a low budget horror, and most people don't buy or rent these films for the acting.

It should also be mentioned that this film contains a lot of female nudity. Full frontal nudity in most cases. Most 1980's horror movies do contain some nudity, but not to the same extent as this. Therefore, it should be said that this is probably more of a 'lads' movie rather than a film you would sit to watch with the girlfriend.

As for the DVD itself, the film is shown in Widescreen, the aspect ratio being 16:9. No real special features to speak of. Just a trailer, as well as the standard chapter selection and menu.

No longer widely available on the high street, this DVD can be quite easily obtained on the internet.

To sum up - Not your average zombie movie. The plot is certainly different, and some of the french country scenes are beautiful to look at. Not the goriest of horrors either, so gore fans may be disappointed by this film. Lots of strong nudity may offend some people.