The organizing department behind the After Dark Horrorfest clearly didn't base their movie choices on plot originality; otherwise "Lake Dead" never would have made the final selection. This is a remotely entertaining little effort, but quite possibly also the most clichéd horror movie I ever watched and it's derivative of at least a dozen genre classics, including "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre" (original and remake), "Friday the 13th" ,"Psycho" and "The Hills have Eyes (original and remake as well). Every prototypic twist you expect to happen in a backwoods horror slasher really does happen here, and at the exact moment you predicted it too, and every stereotypical character you anticipate to make an appearance also really does make an appearance at one point or another. Personally I have a high level of tolerance for the use of dreadful clichés, but if you're exclusively looking for horror movies with innovating and daringly creative formulas feel free to skip this one, because it features absolutely nothing you haven't seen a hundred times before. The plot primarily revolves on two attractive blond sisters, Brielle and Kelly Lake. Their last name is either a lack of scripting inspiration or a truly lame pun, because they actually inherit a lake and complementary lakeside motel somewhere in the middle of hillbilly nowhere. The girls gather a group of horny friends and decide to go camping in the area they inherited. Needless to say the testament was only a trick to lure the girls back to their family's roots, where they're required to continue an uncannily bizarre family tradition. There's a revival of backwoods/inbred redneck horror movies going on lately, but somehow these newer films can't accomplish the raw and nihilistic atmosphere of their 70's colleagues. "Lake Dead" tries hard, but the film never evokes the slightest frights and not even the explicit gore has a shocking impact. The bloody make-up effects are nifty, but there's too little variation in the characters' deaths and the film definitely also needed a couple of authentically perverted gimmicks. Incestuous sub plots and maniacal old ladies don't upset anyone anymore nowadays, so "Lake Dead" is actually rather soft by today's standards. The film stars an impressive number of sexy chicks (Kelsey Crane, Tara Gerard, Malea Richardson
), but I sincerely doubt long and fruitful careers are awaiting any of them. Oh, and now that our list of little complaints is quite long already, I don't think the titular lake actually qualifies as a lake. It's more like an over-sized pond, if you ask me.
