Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys

You know the score. It’s summer, the heat is out and everyone wants to go town to the lake. Only problem is, the lake is rampant with killer lampreys. Complicating matters is the town mayor worried for the economy who refrains from calling off the quarantine of the towns lakes.

 

With the likes of Christopher Lloyd and Shannon Doherty on board, there’s a high brow cast for such an independent film. Along with Zack Ward (‘Don’t Blink’), it’s surprising what well cast actors can make to such a production. Despite it wearing the Asylum traits such as low budget CGI and awful scoring, there is something quite enjoyable about ‘Blood Lake’ that puts it somewhere between ‘Piranha’ and ‘Them’, the lust for blood mixed with the creature features of the 1950’s.

 

The B-Movie quality serves it well for a late night feast and for a TV Movie, some of the deaths show favourably to its director. Coming from the guy who bought us the most controversial film of 2012 (‘Hate Crime’) and followed it up with the first movie filmed entirely on an iPhone (‘To Jennifer’) it is apparent that Bressack’s ideology is restricted and is probably his “safest” movie yet. There's nothing to be afraid of here and for those who enjoy Bressack's ability to push boundaries, not only with his techniques but stories to tell, may feel a little let down for such a name to be attached to a generic creature feature. 

 

‘Blood Lake’ is far from flawless, very far, but for what it’s worth makes for a great late night snack, there is a director’s cut which may increase the level of gore above its TV movie status and more in line with Bressack’s visual style but as it is, it makes for one of The Asylum’s better films. Fortunately, when an Asylum film is released the expectation is minimal so when something like this comes along, it’s a treat for sore eyes that doesn’t redefine the genre but entertains it. From the studio that brought you ‘Dinocroc’ and ‘Sharktopus’ comes something a little more believable and a little more gritty.