The Year of SOV: Blood Lake (1987)

I don’t know why when horror fanatics hear the word “obscure” they think they have to see that movie! I mean, maybe it’s obscure for a reason! It’s kind of a sickness we have, to hunt down the rarest of horror, especially slashers. Goes to prove that we are a passionate bunch. But are we also a bunch of fools? See, I pulled out one of those self-reflective questions.

Blood Lake certainly isn’t the worst film I’ve ever seen. And parts of it are alright. I liked the cast and the killer’s motivation is, uh, different, if a little far fetched, but as a whole, Blood Lake is just not very engaging. Unless of course, randy Tony (Travis Krasser) was on screen.

Seriously. How old is this kid? He’s absolutely hilarious and dare I say it, carries the damn film on his back! Yeah, Tony! And a definite shout out should go to Voyager. You, my friends, are rocking!

Blood Lake is about six teens (two are practically pre-teens and very well may be, it’s hard to tell), who venture out to a vacation house for a weekend of water skiing, sunning, eating, booze and off-screen sex. Mostly it’s just skiing and eating, with a nice extra long scene featuring the drinking game Quarters (my god, the 80s were beyond words!). After a lot of nothing, this creepy guy shows up and starts killing people. Then someone stops him. The End.

I know what your asking, “But Amanda By Night, what is it all about?” I don’t think I could answer that, but for a film with a whole lot of nothing, there is something likeable about it. For shot on video, it’s well shot, with certain outdoor scenes even looking a bit film-like (at least the daytime shots). The characters aren’t particularly interesting, but are played with some heart – and folks, this is why I love slashers before this current crop of self-aware horror – all of the kids…gulp… get along! And that might be what saved Blood Lake for me (I mean, not counting the uber mulleted Tony!). I thought that although the interaction was not very well staged it still felt pretty normal. They felt like a real group of friends hanging out. And like real life hanging out, it’s a bit boring to watch. But you won’t find any dumb cat fights or asshole behavior and there’s certainly no animosity towards one another.

Maybe the writer and director should have made a teen sex comedy (although they’d need the nudity for that) because they seem to understand the dynamic of friendship. I know, I can’t believe I’m using such a big word like dynamic, but it fits here.

I still say Blood Lake is fine remaining obscure but for someone who is sick of this current trend of self aware irony, this shot on video slasher is a nice retreat. Of course, I can’t sincerely recommend it, unless you love 80s SOV, and if you’re reading this, you know you do!

If you choose to be so gluttonous, you can watch Blood Lake on Veoh! Oh. My. God. You have download something, but I’m on Veoh often and think it’s a decent site. Enjoy!