Zombie Lake

Rating:
Summary: A different kind of Zombie film
Review: As a fan of Italian horror/zombie movies, I wasn't sure what to make of this French release when ordering it. The price was right however so I decided to give it a try. While not the worst film I have ever seen, it was completely different from Italian Zombie flicks. The violence is toned way down. Even when someone is killed there is a limited amount of blood. There are other noticeable things about the movie that only took me one viewing to notice such as: the underwater scenes of the zombies were obviously filmed in a pool (you can see the side wall in the background), the time line is way off as a former Nazi solider who died during the war could not have an eight-year-old daughter 35 years after World War II (this part really amazed me) and as mentioned by other reviewers, the makeup was poor (it would rub off when the zombies attacked someone).
That being said, it was different and it was worth the price ($9.99) although I'm glad I didn't spend $20 or more on it.
It was nice also to finally see a film by Jean Rollin, a director I have heard of but had never had the chance to see any of his works.
Don't expect anything along the lines of Italian cinema here and you won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: This film is horrible
Review: Don't be fooled by the storyline listed above. This film is hideous. It has to be one of the worst horror films ever made.

Rating:
Summary: Exquisitely bad cinema.
Review: Ed Wood's films (particularly Plan 9 From Outer Space) are widely considered to be the worst ever made. That is absolutely untrue. Zombie Lake makes Plan 9 look like Seven Samurai or Lawrence of Arabia. It is without doubt the worst film ever made. It has to be. It must.
I will not give a synopsis; other reviewers have done that. I will instead share some of the treasures contained in Zombie Lake:
1) A beautiful, nubile young woman is completely nude during the opening credits. Yes, this must be a record; full frontal nudity during the opening titles!
2) The zombies' makeup is of the 99 cent, K Mart variety. The makeup rubs off on the victims' bodies, and as the film progresses, washes off of the zombies. By their final emergence from the lake, one zombie's face is completely devoid of makeup.
3) During one shining, glorious moment, the camera operator can clearly be seen in a mirror.
4) The female "basketball" team, emerges from their VW bus and begins to play with a volleyball.
5) Said female team begin disrobing, and reveal that none of them are wearing underclothes (and they just came back from practice). In fact, none of the women in the film wear underclothes, except for one young woman who is taking a bath (the tub conveniently located on her lawn).
6) One member of the team gleefully strips off all of her clothes, and enters the lake still wearing her shoes. She must be a modest young lady. In the very next scene (an underwater shot),her shoes have miraculously disappeared.
7) The underwater shots are obviously shot in a pool. Canvas has been draped over the walls of the pool, and the ripples and folds of the canvas are completely visible. A light and drain are also on full display.
8) The dubbing was done by the worst actors who have ever lived. They speak their lines with all the enthusiasm of a ninety year old lung cancer patient. The "rallying the town" scene perfectly illustrates this and stands as one of the high points (?) in the history of bad cinema.
9) The daughter of one of the zombies is eight years old. She was born thirty years previous.
All right, that's enough. Trust me, there is much more to be seen in this film. Any aficionado of bad film must not only see this film, but buy it as well. I have watched my favorite scenes over and over again, and they just improve with each viewing.
It is the worst film ever made. Nothing comes close.

Rating:
Summary: The worst movie ever made!
Review: I am a great movie fan, and I like horror movies especially, so I have seen a few real bad films in my life, but nothing can be compared to this terrible film. If there were an award for the worst film of all times, this would be my nomination. Everything is bad from the beginning. The story itself is so stupid, that even a child would laugh at it. It is especially funny, when a braindead nazi zombie saves his daughter from another fellow monster! The directing, the camera work the clothes are all simply ridiculous. To make matters worse this horror movie is not scary at all! The English dubbing is totally out of synchron with the original French speech, which only adds to the horror! If you want to spend [...], in order to be able to show your friends something to laugh at,then buy this DVD! But only then!

Rating:
Summary: Scariest movie EVER
Review: I don't know much about Nazi's but they are mean SOB's in this scarefest. Incredible acting, esp. in the underwater shots. I've looked and can find no scuba gear. I would rate this as a definate buy. And I tell you something else, I am never going to swim naked with my basketball team in a lake in France with those zombie's wandering around. I thought the leader zombie was kind of cute too.

Rating:
Summary: i can't believe i paid good money for this trash
Review: if there was a way to rate this "no stars" or "negative stars" i would. however, one is the lowest i can use. i suppose READING the reviews here rather than looking at only the stars would have given me a clue that, while in the mood for a good zombie movie and getting the living tar scared out of me, i purchased a comedy.
if you want to be scared....RUN...AWAY from this movie. find something else like "the sound of music" or "europa, europa"...the nazis in these films are more scary than the ones in "zombie lake".

Rating:
Summary: Strange but entertaining.
Review: If you cross the three genres horror, soft porn and family drama you get Zombie Lake. It was probably hard for the distributors to find an audience for this one. None of the genres work very well in this film expect the nudity of course. But it tends to be more comical than erotic especially in the scene where the female basket team baths nude in the lake. The music in that scene must be heard to be believed. Howard Vernon, who plays the mayor, gives the film some dignity it maybe don't deserve. This is much worser than Oasis of the Zombies and the zombie make-up is so bad you won't believe your eyes. It's so bad it's hard to think intelligent people has made it. But at the same time it's entertaining to watch so I give it three stars anyway. Fans of bad euro films may like it, but others probably want to stay away from it.

Rating:
Summary: Horrible, Horrible, Horrible
Review: If you decide to buy a zombie movie, PLEASE skip on this one. This has no plot, the zombies look like they just finished a game of paintball, the blood is VERY fake (coming from a tube that is visible), and the music is god-awful.

The film takes place in France around the 1940's during WWII. A couple of soldiers are killed during battle. Fastfoward to 1980. Around a lake, a number of females are being killed everytime they take a swim (naked of course). It turns out that the killers are the dead soldiers, who turn out to be zombies. It is up to the local mayor to keep the peace and stop the chaos.

This is by far the worst movie I ever purchased. Everytime it shows the zombies underwater, you can tell it was not filmed in a lake.( It was filmed in a pool!!!). The part with one of the soldiers who come back to see his 10-year old daughter does not make any sense: If his daughter was born in the 1940s, she should be close to 40 years old, NOT 10!!!. And let's not forget the music. It is very annoying and degrading. Not the mention the acting. Even a badly dubbed Fulci movie would be 10 times better than this.

Again, if you want to see a zombie movie, skip this one at all costs.

Rating:
Summary: WHAT ? IT'S NOT A COMEDY?
Review: Incredible as it may seem, at 45 years old, i still get a real kick out of movies like this. Horrible special effects, rampant nudity, no budget, an unbelievable plot line, and dubbing that's worst than the cheapest Godzilla movie ever made. I laughed until i cried. Truly amazing. If you're the type that gets a buzz from movies like ROBOT MONSTER, HORRORS OF SPIDER ISLAND, THE BRAINIAC or any of the STARMAN films, this is totally for you. If not, avoid at all costs.

Rating:
Summary: The Floral Tiles of Hell
Review: It is very rare that film can be genuinely called 'unique' but it is a description that can genuinely be applied to Zombies Lake, for this film, directed by J.A. Laser, is unlike any other in the history of the cinema. ...The story is simple; a small village in France, or Italy, or Belgium, or Spain, is invaded by Nazi soldiers during the second world war. Wreaking havoc, they earn the enmity of all the villagers, with the exception of one young girl. Stalked by a German soldier, within a few minutes she falls passionately in love with her would-be attacker.

But then the villagers exact their revenge. The soldiers are stormed and their bodies disposed of in a local lake. There is much rejoicing throughout the village, except for the young girl now pregnant by her beloved storm-trooper.

The child is born, thirty years pass, and we are now in modern day - or, at least, the late seventies- but the little girl is, confusingly, still only eight years old. Life is idyllic and quiet in the village until the Nazis start to claim their revenge, but this time No More Mr Nice Guys. Or even Mr Live Guys. Whenever anyone is foolish enough to dally beside the Lake, zombies in once-smart uniforms rampage - but terribly slowly.

A passing female basketball team who frolic happily in the lake to an instrumental cover of Finland's entry in the 1972 Eurovision Song Contest come to a very nasty end.

The story mainly follows the common banal route of monsters munching their way through extras, with the stock cast of female journalist desperate for a story, cynical police, pompous mayor etc. But towards the end a bizarre twist emerges with the development of a would-be touching relationship between the little girl and her dead father. A scene where she feeds her zomboid dad fresh blood from a bucket is truly bizarre.

In the end, good old napalm saves the day.

The camera work is reminiscent of You've Been Framed; the direction non-existent; the editing of the "oops, me scissor's slipped" school; the acting is, at worst, peculiar, and, at best, downright peculiar; and the dubbed dialogue defies the English language - and the actors' lip movements. The make-up involves painting the face green, and a liberal use of Rice Crispies and Copydex, whilst continuity and period detail are, frankly, useless. Also the underwater scenes clearly betray the floral tiles of the swimming pool where filming took place.

But is it scary? That's the whole purpose of a horror film, after all. Zombies should be foolproof as they capitalise on our horror of death, plus our fear of the familiar becoming treacherous. However, the circumstances of viewing are a major factor. If this had been watched at 2 in the afternoon, sun streaming through the windows, cherryade in one hand and kebab in the other, and in the company of a few friends, then chills would be in very short supply. On the other hand, watched at midnight in a large inexplicably creaky house, thunderstorm in mid-fulmination outside, some weaker, over-imaginative souls (e.g. me) may be forced to keep the light on that night, crucifix and flame-thrower to hand.

But should children be allowed to watch it? Of course not. They are far too sophisticated and would much prefer The Exorcist. But the important question facing society today is: would it inspire violence in the viewing public? Only against the director.