Sam's Lake (2006) User Reviews

A very poor, low budget film.

[Kazombie · 3/10 · 1 October 2007]

I just saw this movie. Please don't believe the fake hype that's been going around obviously planted by the studio. This movie lacks continuity thru out and makes you lose interest after the first 30 minutes. It is not a horror movie. In fact I don't know which genre to put this into. It was definitely a snooze fest for me and I give it a 4/10 tops.

Shame on studio execs for planting fake positive reviews on IMDb. It beats the whole purpose of IMDb where people come to get unbiased ratings.

Please don't waste your time on this film if you are looking for some good chills and thrills. This movie will bore the hell out of you. Surprisingly the acting was good for the first 20 minutes or so making you think if the director lost interest in it after wards?

An Okay Let's-Terrorize-A-Bunch-Of-Kids-In-A-Cabin Film

[ajpatane · 5/10 · 8 May 2009]

This film uses the tried-and-true gimmick of putting a bunch of young people together in a wilderness cabin and then terrorizing them. It is not terribly original in this way. However, as a film, it succeeds where many Hollywood attempts at this same thing fail as the story is taut, accomplishes the goal of creating anxiety, and has a bit of a different twist on who is behind the terror and why. All the actors are unknown, but do a decent job. While the film is low-budget, it looks okay. Those seeking a really scary and unique experience with lots of blood and scares will be disappointed. If you are bored and cannot find anything else at the video store and you want an okay experience with this stock type of film you should be satisfied. As far as films, and particularly horror films go, this one is no where near the top, but it is nowhere near the bottom where the stupid, silly, and goofy lie.

Where's Jason Voorhees when you need him?

[Coventry · 4/10 · 23 November 2009]

I realize Sam's Lake isn't anything quite like Crystal Lake, but still I was secretly hoping that Jason Voorhees would pop out of the water during one of the numerous boring moments and increase the bloodshed and body count a little. No such luck, unfortunately, as "Sam's Lake" is a fairly pretentious and wannabe clever thriller instead of just an amusing and undemanding slasher. The opening sequences of this film are exactly the same as the opening sequences of approximately 7.500 other horror films, with a group of friends heading out to a remote middle-of-nowhere forest area for a weekend of fun and laughter. The only slight difference here maybe is that the main characters aren't sex-addicted teenagers but losers in their early thirties with dysfunctional backgrounds. There's very little going on during the first 45 minutes, except the atmospheric narration of a local urban legend campfire tale about a mentally unbalanced young boy who escaped from the asylum and returned to the area to slaughter his family members. The events further in the film are obviously related to this local legend, but not exactly like you would expect. The group stupidly decides to explore the murder's ramshackle cabin and find a journal that sheds a disturbing new light on the urban myth. If you manage to struggle through this incredibly dull film (though there are a couple of nice shots of leaves floating on the lake's surface), there's an essential plot twist after about an hour of playtime. Admittedly this particular twist is quite original and unpredictable, but it's probably also the single most implausible thing I've ever seen. Also, the twist may give a powerful short energy boost to the film, but the finale is a tedious and confusing mess again. I think I must have stopped paying attention to the story lines, because all of a sudden a Rob Zombie look-alike showed up. What the hell? The murder sequences are tame and most of them occur off-screen, which is the one thing that every horror fanatic hates. "Sam's Lake" is boring and largely derivative with only a small handful of notable moments. Hardly a movie to recommend.

Just another 'cabin by the lake' teen horror flick

[em89072002 · 2/10 · 2 June 2008]

From the Friday THE THIRTEENTHs to CABIN FEVER this 'cabin by the lake/ teens in the woods' horror genre has been done to death.

SAM'S LAKE both adds and detracts from this genre at the same time; it adds another piece of rubbish to the pile and it detracts from the few truly original and quality productions in this genre.

The story is just a knock-off that pulls elements from the numerous other flicks in the genre. Instead of crazy Jason with his crazy mother, crazy Samantha has a crazy father and crazy brother. Her rag-tag band of young somewhat buff friends/victims are little more than bland stereotypes for a diversity campaign. The horror aspect is a real disappointment; the victims never really fight back and are easily killed. The horror scenes just aren't scary and the acting is bad. In an obvious attempt to pander to preteen girls and perhaps a gay following from his other so-called acting ventures, the actor who plays Sam's brother takes his shirt off and runs around in the woods half naked during the final night hunt and killing segment. Within the story this is illogical --- there's no reason for it; but, as a gimmick to keep viewers watching the practice of showing some skin is done in movies all the time --- but usually with more attractive actors.

Go Jump In A Lake !

[Bill357 · 1/10 · 4 May 2009]

Do not watch this pitiful excuse for a horror movie. There is a reason it took four years to hit the video shelves and it is not because it's good!

Do not believe the DVD box when it tells you this is a supernatural horror film. It is not. It's a wooded stalk and slash picture with bad pacing. Lion's Gate also tries to trick little girls into watching this by boldly proclaiming that it's from the producers of Twilight.

Sam's Lake is totally boring as hell! Literally the whole first half of the movie is taken up by insipid conversations amongst this dull assemblage of college students. The first plot point (the event that changes the direction of and gets to the meat of a film) occurs halfway through, an amazingly amateurish move on the part of the filmmakers.

The second half got my eyeballs rolling as the film's revelations turn out to be both predictable and stupid.

Rated C for Crap

[captaincameron · 1/10 · 13 April 2011]

I should have known better. The DVD cover said it was from the producers of "Twilight." The producers of "Twilight" took a mediocre, highly overrated book and turned it into an even more mediocre and overrated movie. (Although to be fair, when forced by my Ph. D. holding wife who somehow is a fan of the Twilight nonsense to see the third movie, it was pleasing when the werewolf character was running away and the strung-out little girl who is the lead called "Jacob, stay!") But enough of the time wasted in my life on Twilight. Sam's Lake is another 87 minutes I'll never get back. Acting--crap. Plot--crap. "Supernatural horror that will leave you trembling"--none. Zero. The most supernatural thing was that my liver didn't climb up my throat and choke my brain for watching this. I am certain that there are other movies this bad out there, but I am hard pressed to remember one. Save yourself. Avoid this flick. Tell your friends.

The title should say "Lame hunting Lamer"

[hindsiteman · 1/10 · 30 March 2010]

Was this a movie? Because I'm not impressed at all. I'd not only want my money back, but would sue the producers for playing with feces! No plot. Bunch of rejects. The nature is very nice. Acting...none. Ripping off the Blair witch dolls...totally wrong. Couple of slim, underfed inbred characters (no makeup! cheap...) chasing much bigger pray and killing it with a pointy stick (or a branch, that thing was super stupid). I hated this. I still do.

Do not watch this. IF you value your money and time. But if you like to see a typical failing in horror movie production, then it would be acceptable.

Attractive low budget thriller.

[michaelRokeefe · 5/10 · 4 July 2009]

Following her father's death, Sam(Fay Masterson)invites a group of her friends on a weekend getaway at her family's lakeside-cottage. She practically grew there on the lake named after her; so it was easy for her to recite the legend of horrific slayings that have haunted the area for decades. It doesn't take long for the group to realize there is something to the legend, for now it is getting personal...one by one the group of pals lose a friend. They find themselves part of the legend of Sam's Lake.

Photography not bad at all. The script is very suspect and the acting is mostly regrettable. Story line much like the many other run-of-the-mill slasher flicks. In the cast: William Gregory Lee, Sandrine Holt, Stephen Bishop, Megan Fahlenbock and Peter Beks.

If you are willing to wait this is a good horror movie with most of the chills in the final 30 minutes

[dbborroughs · 7/10 · 17 May 2009]

Supposedly true story of a massacre that happened around Sam's Lake. The plot has a group of friends who go to the lake in order to reconnect and get away. However when they go to a run down house in the woods where a massacre occurred years earlier (The "true" part of the tale), things begin to take a turn for the worse as they begin to be hunted.

Surprisingly good horror film has a great deal of mood and few nice twists that keep things moving, once things get moving. The problem here is that the film moves in fits and starts for almost an hour before the film gets up the speed to really take off. Honestly the film at first seemed like a well made but stereotypical story of people going into the woods and running into trouble. Then things began to build once they actually got to the woods with the story sequence building a nice bit of tension. However its not until the diary scene that the film truly springs to life and begins its race to the end. The trick is getting to the diary since my that time almost an hour has passed and not much else.(Too much teasing) Still once the film gets going its pretty good. I like that the film isn't overly gory or graphic, building the fear and the tension on the basis of the characters and the events not the blood and guts.

For those willing to wait it out I recommend this. Those needing instant gratification are directed elsewhere.

Dumb stupid and predictable!

[jordondave-28085 · 3/10 · 27 April 2023]

2009) Sam's Lake HORROR

A young female teen, Sam (Fay Masterson) learns about her father's demised and decides to cheer herself up by bringing her and her friends over for a visit to the lake she used to grew up in, including the fact that it was also named after her, hence the title "Sam's Lake". Movie relies on many of flashbacks switching between the current time and past and so forth. This is yet another one of those films where friends, eventual victims don't ask a whole a lot of questions allowing themselves to become victims themselves, making the credibility to be dumb, stupid and predictable. One of it's selling points on the cover case says that it was 'Inspired by a true-mystery-turned-legend surrounding the massacre near Sam's Lake'- I'm like, at what parts is that specifically for, the actual commercial movie case does not say.

Ignored the bad reviews, LOVED it.

[brandonlewislaw · 10/10 · 10 May 2014]

If you're a huge horror fan like me, you know you run low on options sometimes. This site comes in handy when you come across an obscure one that you don't know anything about. Good way of saving time and avoiding the train-wrecks. Anyhow, I went against the overwhelmingly bad reviews. Something about friends doing road trips to secluded places..that campy experience..nothing supernatural involved...right up my alley. Figured what the hell, I'll give it 15 minutes. Long story short, I loved this damn movie. I loved the characters. For amateur actors, they did a hell of a job. And the twist...the twist got me. Horror movies are so cliché now, you can guess the twist long before it happens. I guess it's that I just didn't see any reason to suspect a twist. The movie was so straightforward. You can usually see them coming from a mile away. Not this time. If any of you have ever seen "Adam & Evil"..It has terrible reviews on here too but I loved it. Same general plot, not as good as this though. Bottom line: Obviously I'm in the minority, but I'm not an idiot. I've seen probably a thousand horror movies. I know garbage when I see it. That said, I loved this movie. Give it a shot if you come across it. Find it on the internet or at the bottom of a clearance rack DVD bin. You might be surprised. PS. I gave it a 10 just based on the principle. People throwing 1 star ratings at it is absurd. So count me in on the absurdity.

So so at best

[SanteeFats · 4/10 · 30 September 2013]

Sam and Jesse are two twisted siblings from a really nutso daddy. This daddy has turned into a legend in the local area having escaped from a care facility, murdered his parents and his sister, then has not been heard from for a long time. He has blended in in a small area town, found a wife, who dies having the twins Sam and Jesse. He teaches the kids how to chase down human prey in the woods, which they do when Sam, the sister who lives in the city from time to time, brings her city friends up for the fun and games. The first half of the movie is not as bad as some reviewers state. It sets up the second half where the chase starts and it wasn't that bad a story telling. Bro and sis thought they had killed daddy when they bopped him on the head and interred him in I guess what is suppose to be the family crypt. Guess what? HHHEEEEE"s back and hunting his own offspring. Meanwhile the two sibs have been hunting the five people Sam brought with her. There is one black guy and a nice surprise is he is the second to die not the first!! The only one still alive of the five is Sandrine Holt (Kate) because Jesse wants her. Cornered she is saved when daddy grabs Jesse before he can kill her. The kids decide to go hunt their dad and leave Kate alone for now. Unfortunately they find daddy. Jesse gets killed by daddy and daddy by Sam. Chasing Kate to the dock Sam gets belted on the head and knocked into the lake bleeding pretty good. Is she dead? Who knows. Kate gets the keys, and as she drives away there is a cut to the cabin where a shadowy something momentarily shows in an impossible to tell who or what. Now the only thing not really covered was the folk living in the area. They apparently know what's happening but I guess as long as they keep shut about it and don't interfere they are left alone. The only local who says anything like a warning is killed by one of the family.

Mildly suspenseful

[baunacholi-86159 · 4/10 · 9 September 2021]

The usual bunch of diverse and inclusive friends go to a remote location and bla - not at all creepy - things happen. On the positive side, the twist in the middle is somewhat original which is nowadays really seldom. Another positive aspect are the nice nature shots / scenery...but why on earth behave people in their 30's like 12 yrs old ?

Solid and effective little Horror film...

[lathe-of-heaven · 8/10 · 9 January 2012]

There wasn't anything profound here, but the refreshing thing, especially compared to the mountains and mountains of pure drivel out there which are considered 'HORROR' films these days, is that for it's very simple and straight forward story, it is done very well. I mean, REALLY... How many times do we see films where groups of young people go off somewhere and not ONE of them could act their way out of their own @ss crack...? Plenty. I really liked the calm and understated job they all did in their performances; that alone was quite refreshing. And it was directed in a very competent manner with nothing overdone or over-stylized. Just straight forward Suspense / Horror with a nice little 'Creep' factor towards the end.

Like I say, there is nothing that is gonna make you hafta change your pants or anything, and if you are one of these 'HORROR' fans who loves tons of torture and gore, you most likely will be quite bored; a feeling apparently shared by some of the 1-star reviews here. But, if you can appreciate a low key story that is well done, than you should enjoy this one. There's not anything that really stands out as far as the mood, style, or cinematography that sets it way above other Horror films, BUT... compared to the HUGE volume of Horror crap that we have to wade through these days, I feel that the film was put together rather well and deserves a higher rating than what it has.

I guess you might say that I am grading this one on a slight curve...

Good movie

[TheRiddler16 · 8/10 · 14 March 2010]

This is the most insane horror movie that I have seen, but I liked it. The murderers are a serial killer brother and sister that are the son and daughter of a serial killer. When they were kids, their dad had them invite their friends over to the woods near their cabin and the three of them would hunt them down and kill them because their motto is that the dark sleep brings them closer to each other. They end up doing the same thing as adults while avoiding their dad who wants to kill them. This did have a lot of violence, but not very much gore compared to other R rated horror flicks which is fine with me because I care more about the plot than the amount of violence.