4.7 | / 10 |
Users | 1.0 | |
Reviewer | 1.5 | |
Overall | 1.3 |
Four mysterious, attractive girls embark on a road trip for a relaxing weekend getaway in the woods. Unbeknownst to them, two clans of deranged male misfits follow them to their secluded and picturesque lakeside cabin in the mountains. The girls appear to be easy prey for the predatory perverts until the fateful stroke of midnight when all hell, literally, breaks loose!
Starring: Carlee Baker, Eve Mauro, Eryn Joslyn, Robin Sydney, Michael EsparzaHorror | 100% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD, 1 CD)
DVD copy
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 0.5 | |
Video | 1.0 | |
Audio | 2.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 1.5 |
If the behind-the-scenes photos included in this Blu-ray's extras section are telling the truth, there actually was a production crew hard at work on Wicked Lake. The eyeball test, however, says otherwise. Outside of a few gory visual effects that looked as if there was some legitimate effort involved in their creation, Wicked Lake looks and feels as amateurish as they come, as if it were photographed by someone who just stepped out of Best Buy with an HD camera, gathered a few friends (including a quartet of pretty girls willing to bear it all for the camera), cobbled together a script, charged the battery, and went to town. It's a wonder such a shoddy production even made it to Blu-ray, particularly with hundreds of better genre films still MIA on the high definition format. If the idea of cheap thrills, some girl-on-girl kissing, a few naked bodies, and some seen and implied gore mixed up in a largely directionless and ultra, ultra low-budget movie that's only concerned with sex and violence sounds appealing, then Wicked Lake might be worth a spin. Audiences looking for a tighter story or some semblance of production values should look elsewhere.
Welcome to hell.
Wicked Lake looks unsurprisingly terrible on Blu-ray. The cheap production and low quality transfer are apparent in every shot. The image is blown out to the point that daytime skies appear as nothing other than globs of blinding light. Colors are drab and absent any real vitality or authentic appearance. Details are flat and uninspiring, whether human flesh, grasses, or accents around the rustic home. Compression artifacts run rampant, noise is heavy, banding is occasionally evident, jagged edges are seen here and there, and blacks are heavily crushed. In short, this is a wicked transfer and one of the worst on the Blu-ray format.
Wicked Lake's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is at least respectable. Though it frequently lacks real-life transparency, it manages to surprise with a few good little details and directional effects. Music, however, lacks the vigor and authenticity the hard rock tunes demand. It also sounds a little cramped and muddy, but it's not the worst example of music on Blu-ray. Light ambient effects are frequently evident, whether singing birds, lightly passing background traffic, scratchy background radio music, or wind. Shotgun blasts and handgun shots fail to find much vigor or authority. Dialogue is adequately clear and focused up the middle.
Wicked Lake contains an audio commentary track and a hodgepodge of short supplements. Also included in the Blu-ray case is a DVD copy
of the film and the Wicked
Lake audio CD soundtrack. On may also choose to view the movie with a message from "Uncle Al Jourgensen."
Wicked Lake makes Asylum movies look slick and spectacular in comparison. It's largely directionless, little more than an excuse to photograph sex, nudity, and violence. A couple of somewhat creepy scenes not withstanding, this is a total dud of a film, if one can actually call it that, with no redeeming value. Shriek Show's Blu-ray release of Wicked Lake features terrible video, substandard audio, and a decent assortment of extras. Stay far, far away.
2014
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