Devil's Pond (2003) User Reviews

Tries very hard. Deserves a chance because of the effort.

[insomniac_rod · 6/10 · 28 June 2009]

I had a difficult time trying to decide whether to watch or not the movie. I mean, it stared Tara Reid! Soon after the plot develops, I found myself paying attention to the events but only because of Tara Reid's intention to act decently. Let's face it, she's not a good actress but at least in this movie she tries to to do it fine. Kudos for her; she tried it at least.

After convincing myself that she did a nice effort, the movie delivered a fine surprise for me when it became a thriller about a psychopath husband trying to convince his new hot bride that he really loves her although he stalked her before and well, more twisted situations.

True, the acting is not that good (Kip Pardue delivers a fine performance though) and you need proved, talented actors to carry on 90 minutes of an intense dialog; I mean, there are only two characters in the whole movie.

The settings are really good and somber, plus the situations ask for a sad atmosphere. Well done for the cinematography and art direction.

Overall this is a movie to just watch once and when it airs on cable. It's not a keeper or memorable, but it still deserves a slight chance.

She should have known before saying 'I will' in the church..

[oneofthetwelve · 6/10 · 27 December 2009]

A young couple gets married, and goes to honeymoon trip to the woods. Or a small cabin on a lake, whatever - in the middle of nowhere. The new husband turns out to have serious issues with social life, communication and his visions of life are just twisted. Julianne's honeymoon will turn into a true nightmare. She will find herself marooned and chained, the only way out is by swimming after wiping off the obstacles, Mitch being the biggest one.

The plot carries on nicely, it's not boring at all, just full of 'goofs', but if that doesn't matter, it's okay entertainment for evening. The biggest goof being how could she not know his boyfriend is a boy fiend indeed? They dated over one year before getting married, and this honeymoon brings out the true husband? The scary thing is, there actually exist people like this, both female and male..

Mitch's behavior is exactly like one from Criminal Minds. In my mind I created a small profile about him, heh.

Honeymoon survivor

[Chase_Witherspoon · 4/10 · 11 October 2012]

Looks like a mid-week telemovie and stars Tara Reid beginning to regret her recent nuptials to Kip Pardue, after he goes berserk on their honeymoon, turning out to be a grade-A psycho who's been stalking her, grooming her as his prized possession. He seems to develop an obsessive psychosis as he manhandles her around his 'island' (an idyllic setting surrounded by a lake which is useful, because she has a mortal fear of drowning), controlling her behaviour, opinions and generally engaging in ever-escalating forms of domestic violence. Initially surprised, she gradually becomes aware he's not the man she thought he was, by which time, it's too late and she must fight fire with fire in order to escape "devil's island".

Momentum is present, the gradual escalation too, but the film never quite manages the "psychological thriller" for which it appears to be aiming. Tara's make-up and hair never seem to match the ferocity of Kip's brutal attacks, his creepy, emotionally detached persona done reasonably well. If you can't cop Tara, or for that matter Kip, then you're in trouble because they're essentially the entire cast, although Meredith Baxter-Birney has a very minor role.

I've read that this is an independent film which explains the sometimes amateurish look and feel, though given the film's small scale, this isn't necessarily a deal-breaker. If you can suspend disbelief for long enough to accept the human headline, minor celebrity of Tara Reid attempting a vaguely important role, then this will be sufficient to pass the time.

"Devil's Pond"-10/10. I'm surprised about all the bad remarks on this film.

[movies2u · 8 February 2004]

Devil's Pond (2004)

I was very surprised when I read all of the terrible remarks on this film. I thought this movie was great. I saw comments remarking that the film must have had a cheap budget because there was a small cast, but that's because the story was about two people all alone in the woods on an island. Who else would be there? I mean come on! Tara Reid gives a great performance. This film is about Julianne (Tara Reid) and her husband Mitch (Kip Pardue). The two are newlyweds and are on their honeymoon on a small island in a cabin. Mitch begins to go insane, and sinks their boat. Since Julianne can't swim, she cannot get off the small island, and as Mitch becomes more and more insane, she realizes that she may not make it off the island ever- and if she does, only one of them are going to be alive.

This film reminded me of Misery, and it was very suspenseful and entertaining. 10/10.

Sorry, but you all must be delusional

[Chulo1113 · 1/10 · 3 January 2006]

this movie was absolutely HORRENDOUS...there was horrible acting all around, it was unrealistic (even by movie standards), and the script was juvenile and sophomoric

Let's read the writing on the wall:

• Straight to DVD - POOR (to put it lightly) critical reviews - Tara Reid has no acting career (was this her last movie?) - Horrible horrible HORRIBLE ending....no suspense, or psychology involved! - "You were right, I don't have it in me" -- What kind of f*!@ing last line is this???????

I really hope the people who enjoy this movie are either in high school or have no education, bc after reading some of the 9/10 and 10/10, i truly fear for America's future!

Not bad

[dennisr2000 · 7/10 · 30 November 2003]

Not bad for the genre, if only because the filmmakers stayed away from the usual cliches. I was thoroughly entertained for ninety minutes without having to stop and think too hard, either about bad plot or bad script and that's all I wanted.

Tera the terrible!!!!

[Suzie70287 · 3/10 · 23 January 2007]

First of all a warning, this movie is awful! It contains bad acting, many plot holes and things that just don't make any sense!

Tera Reid plays the little rich girl we already know who winds up married to a psychotic stalker. Somehow she thought he was completely normal until they spend a couple of weeks at their honeymoon spot on a tiny island.

Also, Tera is scared of water which foreshadows the fact that she will be trapped on this island unless she can conquer her fear. Since this movie is a 'woman=good man=bad' type movie you can already predict the sequence of events and the ending.

Reid does a better job at acting than her male companion but that isn't to say she's good. She goes from looking like she's going to have a breakdown to just looking out of it...maybe she was just drunk on set. Who knows?

As for the rest of the movie, it's filled with magical cigarettes that don't get soaked when swimming, a diet of only pond water and meat (which I must say, there must be a water filter around that island because with Tera's shaved legs and fluffy hair, there's got to be chemicals in there), and a man that can take a frying pan to the face and a bear trap on his ankle but gets woozy when hit with a piece of wood.

So, that is Devil's Pond in a nutshell. If you are wondering why I gave it a 3 instead of a 1; it's because I got a laugh out of it. Will it also humor any of you to tell you I watched this film on Lifetime?

A Guilty Pleasure

[Hick_N_Hixville · 7/10 · 1 December 2006]

It's more of a lake than a pond, and if you expect quality you'll have a devil of a time trying to convince yourself that its worth the rental price, but for me its just the type of bad movie that's a real guilty pleasure.

Imagine what might happen if a former A&F model playing a redneck psycho stalker manages to get the local hick Britney Spears lookalike, played by an alumnus from "American Pie," to marry him and go on their honeymoon for two weeks to a log cabin on an island out in the middle of a VERY isolated lake within a day's drive of the podunk town they live in. It can be reached only after miles of travel over dusty logging roads. And the cell phone doesn't work out there either. You know there's gonna be trouble.

When Britney, still in her wedding dress, climbs into the truck immediately after the ceremony and tells her new cutie to "get me the f*ck outta here," you also know you're in for some wonderfully bad dialog, hammy overacting, bad direction and writing, and lots of lowbrow by the numbers fun. And this flick does not let you down. After a few days when Britney runs out of birth control pills and A&F starts to get weird about wanting to make babies, she might want to end the marriage as quickly as the real Britney did hers, but boy does she have her work cut out for her to do it.

This movie is something a community college drama student from say, northern Minnesota, who had seen a lot of Hitchcock movies and decided he could make one just like them might turn out. Cary Grant, James Mason, or Paul Newman our leading man ain't, but the disconnect between his obviously angelic mallrat looks and the manly deer hunting, wife beating, obsessive character he is asked to portray is most of the fun. The rest is laughing at how dense the chick is for winding up out there in the first place, and how once her brain cells start sparking a little she manages to get herself "the f*ck" out of the mess she is in. Enjoy. I did. :-)

Devils Pond a lot of muck

[sfmonkeyboy · 1/10 · 3 August 2006]

There is nothing like a good suspense thriller, and this is nothing like one. Kip Pardue's talent is limited to a few different facial expressions, taking his shirt off once in a while, and having tantrums. Tara Reid has one basic facial expression - like someone has asked her to figure out her bank balance using an abacus with warped beads. She slowly realizes the man she married is a loon, and conveys through acting skills alone that she wonders if she left the porch light on when she left. The opening scene is of Tara smoking a cigarette, which she handles quite convincingly, looking mussed, with a scratch on her jaw. THEN the story starts, from her flashback point of view - the wedding, bride's mom reminding them to be careful on the island, mom's birthday is in a few weeks so be sure to be careful and come back in one piece, preferably with a great gift in hand. I don't know what other pictures, if any, Joel Viertel may have directed, but here's a free tip, Joel -- when you show the main character/victim at the beginning of the movie and the rest is told in flashback, we pretty much KNOW that no matter what happens, she escapes, and in this case with nothing worse than a few bruises, a scratch on her jaw, and a hankering for Marlboros. The isolated island setting is a good plot device until you see in the long shots that the cabin is in FULL VIEW of anyone who may be ambling around the pond. Tara's character also displays the ability to think quickly, a talent she must have developed from taking 16 items into the 10 items or less check out counter. She wants Kip to leave the island so she can plan her escape, so she burns up the WHOLE BOX of matches, clever girl - and Kip has to leave the island to drive to the nearest Piggly-Wiggly for smokes and lights. Tara swings into MacGyver mode and takes action. Then stays there and waits for hubby to come back so they can act some more, I guess. There's not much more to say other than this is a movie about two characters and the incredible match of wits (half-wit vs. dim-wit) between them.

Nice Looking Honeymoon Gets Nasty

[wes-connors · 6/10 · 3 February 2015]

Handsome and muscular Kip Pardue (as Mitchell "Mitch" Whalen) takes sexy blonde bride Tara Reid (as Julianne) to honeymoon in a little love shack on a small Montana island surrounded by water. From the bruised and bloody opening, we know this is going to be a bad trip. After a few days of good sex, Ms. Reid finds out she's very likely trapped on the island. Reid is also nervous and afraid around water. She never learned how to swim. Her cell phone doesn't work, either. He looks great wearing only his jeans, but Mr. Pardue shows psycho possibilities. Making matters worse, Pardue is close to running out of cigarettes...

There isn't much of a story here, so director Joel Viertel deserves credit for sustaining some interest as scenes progress. The co-stars are about all you'll see; they are good looking and beautifully photographed, by Matthew Jensen. Pardue and Mr. Viertel keep the male lead from overreaching, which does make his character and the situation more convincing. Pretty in pink lipstick, Reid looks mildly disgusted when she first sees the honeymoon shack and maintains that emotion; she keeps her shirt on, also. While the repair efforts are appreciated, Pardue's see-through love shack does not look like it would stay dry inside.

****** Devil's Pond (5/16/03) Joel Viertel ~ Kip Pardue, Tara Reid, Meredith Baxter, Dan Gunther

So Awful It's Watchable

[jacobson98 · 1/10 · 10 January 2004]

This is one of those films, like Plan 9 from Outer Space, that's so awful that it can be fun to watch, especially with an inebriated group. Tara Reid's acting is so awful that it's downright funny. It helps to have a two or seven cocktails while watching this - the plot only makes sense when alcohol consumption is increased.

It's obvious that this film went direct to video -- what's scary is how little talent is evident in this production -- writing, directing, acting, etc. Whoever greenlighted this production in Hollywood is hopefully now grilling hot dogs at Pink's.

Simple premise, beautiful execution

[BennyM · 9/10 · 7 March 2004]

A pretty straightforward basic idea fleshed out with good writing, excellent direction and effective cinematography. Fine performances from Tara Reid and Kip Pardue (truth to tell, I have only seen them in supporting roles until now and never actually noticed either of them before, but this tight story really shows them off).

I watch all the thrillers/horror films I can get my eyes on. And I've seen some duds the last couple of years. This one, however, is brilliant (though not as good as What Lies Beneath). Suspense, character development, a script that actually holds water(!)... Come to think of it, a review this positive from me has to be a mistake. Maybe I'd better watch it again in a couple of months to see if it was really that good. In the meantime, I think you should do the same.

You could definitely do worse when choosing films to watch

[lagriff05 · 6/10 · 6 October 2007]

The name of this flick is so misleading. There's nothing devilish, evil or occult about Devil's Pond, which is why I was disappointed to discover that this was another dime a dozen "escape!" thriller film after picking it up at random. But hell, it's nothing too bad at all, which surprised me. This flick has some balls I did not expect it to have at all. However, the viewers of this movie seem to be divided into two factions: those who claim it's quite good, and those who say it sucks donkey testicles. I'll have to say that most of you are wrong, as this is not a great movie, nor is it poor - it's just another average thriller.

This is pretty much adequate in all areas, and the plot isn't the best, but it's better than other movies of its ilk by far (The Keeper, blah). The acting is pretty well done, and the script isn't lacking much. The way the plot plays out could've been better, as its execution is not the best, but it works, and it did keep me watching for a solid hour and a half. There are a few obvious plot holes, but they don't detract from the film enough to make it unwatchable. There's nothing here that will bug you too much, so if you're bored, pop it in. That's about all it's good for, but I've certainly seen worse.

Not good.

[bombersflyup · 3/10 · 10 July 2022]

Devil's Pond has an odd premise and dull, with almost no plot. Just another nut job.

The question is, if all Mitch wants is to start a family with Julianne, why not just keep doing what he's doing, she's pretty committed getting married. I assume it's cos everything's contrived and too much effort. Why would she even voluntarily go to the cabin surrounded by water though. She should've shot him when she was at the car, but why not kill him at the end and use the body to get across, taking the gun.

Worthless film should never have been made.

[cummyduck · 1/10 · 11 July 2014]

Wow, what a terrible film. Tara Reid yet again proves that she was not cut out to be an actress. Some of the worst acting I've ever seen, the male lead (I honestly can't be bothered to find his name) was equally flat at delivering lines. Whoever wrote the story/script should consider never writing ever again. The story was dumb, here is a quick synopsis.

Two newly weds go on a honeymoon to the males cabin out in the woods on an island in a small lake, or large pond in this case. He instantly turns into a controlling bastard and is nasty to his wife for no reason what so ever. He then disposes of her birth control as he wants her to get pregnant. Tara wants to leave but he won't allow it and has her tapped on this wooded island as she can't swim. He sinks a boat after she nearly escapes. Tara knocks over a box and finds it contains a picture of her taken before they met, and realises that he has in fact stalked her for years and the wedding was just to trap her.

His plan was to find some woman who could not swim and rather then kidnap her and make her a slave on the island he wooed her enough so she fell in love and married him! Now he could have lived happily ever after with a hot blonde and had kids and everything. But instead he wants to keep her on an island and impregnate her. It makes no sense as to why he would do this. They have one box of matches which as part of an escape plan Tara burns. The dude then travels from this remote island to town to get more matches.. He is away for maybe 20 minutes tops and that includes swimming both ways across the pond so I guess if she just screamed loud enough people in the town would have heard her. Anyway it turns out his Pa died out there and his dying wish was for his son to bring up a family at the scruffy little cabin. Apparently they were just gonna live off the land somehow, eating acorns and beetles and fish. Anyway she catches her husband in a bear trap and escapes. That's it. Oh, and then he shots himself.

I can only think the whole idea for this move was thought up by someone trying to get into Tara's pants.

I noticed there are a few reviews that give this worthless piece of crap 10/10?! I guess the film crew and cast maybe wrote them or possibly their parents so that their kids feelings would not be too hurt by all the negative reviews.

A fine thriller, that is also predictable and run-of-the-mill...

[Dinosaw · 6/10 · 11 April 2011]

The plot of this film seemed rehashed from a couple of other thrillers like Misery, The Collector, Single White Female and Sleeping with the Enemy. I give this film a fair rating because I'm an avid thriller fan, otherwise this would be harshly rated.

The film has a very standard, unoriginal plot, nearly just like other thriller; A girl is in danger from a guy, and she must try to escape from his clutches, except the location is wholly different, an isolated island.

The dialogue comes across as corny at parts. The acting by Tara Reid is pretty awkward at times, but she did a good job. The husband's acting was dull, and I thought him smoking in nearly every scene was annoying and distracting.

Although this film is less than 85 minutes, I thought it went for too long. There were some slow scenes throughout. I didn't like how every time she tries to escape and he taunts her, yet she still loves him - though at the end though she fakes it. I mean, from the first fight, she shouldn't even have forgave him. She should've tried to escape from the beginning, really, as there was nothing nice about him.

Besides those flaws, the film was pretty suspenseful at parts, which that was helped by the tense and adrenaline pumping score. For a TV film, it did have good scenes of high tension and suspense. It's a fun thriller to watch, although it shouldn't be taken seriously.

The whole exotic, yet isolated, setting made it stand out from its predictabilities, clichés and slow scenes. And let's not forget the good direction and suspenseful moments - though it did needed more of those suspenseful scenes.

A GUILTY PLEASURE

[HickNHixville · 5 February 2004]

It's more of a lake than a pond, and if you expect quality you'll have a devil of a time trying to convince yourself that its worth the rental price, but for me its just the type of bad movie that's a real guilty pleasure.

Imagine what might happen if a former A&F model playing a redneck psycho stalker manages to get the local hick Britney Spears lookalike, played by an alumnus from "American Pie," to marry him and go on their honeymoon for two weeks to a log cabin on an island out in the middle of a VERY isolated lake somewhere within a few hours drive of the podunk town they live in. It can be reached only after miles of travel over dusty logging roads. And the cell phone doesn't work out there either. You know there's gonna be trouble.

When Britney, still in her wedding dress, climbs into the truck immediately after the ceremony and tells her new cutie to "get us the f*ck outta here," you also know you're in for some wonderfully bad dialog, hammy overacting, bad direction and writing, and lots of lowbrow by the numbers fun. And this flick does not let you down. After a few days when Britney runs out of birth control pills, and A&F starts to get weird about wanting to make babies, she might want to end the marriage as quickly as the real Britney did hers, but boy does she have her work cut out for her to do it.

This movie is something a community college drama student from say, northern Minnesota, who had seen a lot of Hitchcock movies and decided he could make one just like them might turn out. Cary Grant or James Mason our leading man ain't but the disconnect between his obviously angelic mallrat looks and the manly deer hunting, wife beating, obsessive character he is asked to portray is most of the fun. The rest is laughing at how dense the chick is for winding up out there in the first place, and how once her brain cells start sparking a little she manages to get herself "the f*ck" out of the mess she is in. Enjoy. I did. :-)

Yuk!!

[michaelzstuff · 1/10 · 25 July 2004]

I can't stress how disappointed I was that I couldn't enter a vote of zero when rating this movie. It was the worst movie I have ever seen, and the directing and acting was absolutely pathetic. I wish I would warn everyone not to see it. But being as I'm probably one of the few people who ever will, it doesn't matter anyway. I read the script long before these people started making it and they totally obliterated what could have been a decent film. The dialog was a joke (only it wasn't a comedy) and the story was even worse. What a waste of time and money for the viewers, the investors and the rest of the cast and crew. It makes you wonder if these producers ever read their scripts before they put their time and money into them.

Nice Surprise

[fyrekracker · 7/10 · 15 June 2005]

This movie only looks like an independent on the DVD box.After the first 20 minutes the viewer is treated to great cinematography, excellent sound mixing and decent acting by Reid.Pardue's performance I can't rate very strong, but I didn't roll my eyes once, so he must have done a good job! I thought that he could have presented himself just a little bit more intensely, with some scenes ending up a little flat on his part. This movie exhibits great screenplay, editing which contribute to some really intense and frightening scenes.There are great tense chasing scenes that were very surprising in execution.Nice to see a smaller production company turning out such a decent product.Set location in the middle of a lake in Montana was spooky and breathtaking at the same time.If you like independents, get this one for a good night home at the movies!

Poor attempt at a psychological thriller

[mpolans · 2/10 · 27 March 2005]

The movie has been summarized to death already, so I'll try to be brief.

Tara Reid's character has to be one of the most pathetically stupid heroines in recent memory. She had dozens of opportunities to get away and end her torment, which she screwed up time and time again. By the end of the movie, I was cheering the psycho on, hoping he'd kill her before she had a chance to breed and thus noticeably bring down the average IQ of humanity. I admit, I didn't have high expectations and only saw it because my girlfriend wanted to see it, but I was floored by how weak and stupid the main protagonist's character was written. She was probably the weakest, most useless character since the wife in the original "The Shining." I would highly recommend you avoid this movie at all costs unless you enjoy watching about an hour and half of one stupid act after another. Maybe you could turn it into a drinking game, every time Tara Reid's character does something you think is stupid and you would do something different, take a drink. I guaranteed you will get absolutely plastered.

Actually a decent movie

[violet_myriad · 7/10 · 1 July 2011]

I caught this movie flipping through channels one night, and I keep coming back to it. I'm not sure what it is- I'm not a particular fan of either of the main actors, but it's one of those simple, yet realistic films that sort of draws you in. Its scary but at the same time you could see something like that actually happening, and you responding in exactly that way. If anything ladies, it will encourage you to become a strong swimmer if you aren't already. It's a great B-movie flick to watch alone at night with a bucket of popcorn. Kind of scary, kind of suspenseful, but not what I'd designate necessarily as 'horror.' Its like a Lifetime channel horror flick, but an actually good one for a change. Enjoy it!

Worst. Movie. Ever.

[b-litten · 1/10 · 17 February 2011]

I don't know what some of these other reviewers were thinking.. Whatever they're smoking that makes them think this is the best movie ever, I want some. Psychological thriller? Please. I think not. How about calling it like it is-- a predictable, boring, lame movie with laughably-bad acting. Tara Reid and whoever this Kip guy is, should take whatever they made from this movie and either A) buy some acting lessons or B) donate it to someone who actually works for a living (and does whatever they do WELL)...

It seems to me that they both got up the first morning of shooting, bought DSM manuals, read some descriptions of mental illnesses, and decided hey, I'll do that.. that sounds like an easy thing to portray.

If I could give this zero stars I would.

ugly story beautifully filmed, Tara's best, but rejected for theaters?

[RavenGlamDVDCollector · 8/10 · 12 October 2016]

Saw it as HEAVEN'S POND on a rented local DVD back in 2007. Now got me the imported DVD after being unable to find it under that title. Turns out it was released in the United States as DEVIL'S POND. But straight to video. Because of several setbacks during the filming, the producers are overly sensitive about perceived shortcomings of the film, and it wasn't released theatrically. Yet it is Tara Reid's best performance, many agree. And, really, look at it, it's a winner in many ways, it is definitely theater-worthy, even if it is clearly most assuredly not a date movie, no way!

So there's one or two goofs with background clutter, a car here, a director's chair there... Really easy to look past that, with this powerful performance by the two young stars.

The movie is as popular with me now as it was back in 2007 when I first saw it, and I watch a heck of a lot of stuff, so that's saying something.

Highly recommended to all Tara Reid fans, an absolute must- see! And nothing wrong with Kip Pardue's acting. Great location, absolutely beautiful, Montana as a whole, the island in particular. Ugly story beautifully filmed. And Tara is cute.

psycho strands a hot chick

[kairingler · 6/10 · 23 May 2010]

Kip Pardue plays a psycho who has lots of issues about women, he marries a young hottie.. Tara Reid and he takes her to this cabin where it's out in the middle of nowhere. u gotta boat out to it, no cell phone reception, he doesn't let her out of his site,, it's supposed to be there honeymoon and all, but she is mad cause she can't call her mom, progressively things get worse and the couple start to argue and fight on a regular basis, she eventually tries to escape but of course to no avail, he gets worse and cuffs her, so she can't leave the room, she can't swim either,, so pretty much he can do whatever, i didn't think that Tara Reid did a great job at all,,she can hardly act,,she's mainly just eye candy,, but a pretty good lifetime movie though.

i hated this movie

[goe_123 · 1/10 · 12 December 2005]

this movie was filmed in my home town of Libby,MT and all the hype around this movie while it was being filmed made it sound like a great movie, but when i watched it i was embarrassed that it was filmed here.

by the way there was no premiere here i stumbled across this movie in my local video store. so much for showing a little appreciation for putting up with these guys for three months. If you want to see a good movie filmed in the great town of Libby, MT watch "The River Wild" starring Kevin Bacon, Meryl Streep, David Strathairn, Joseph Mazzello, and John C. Reilly. You can also watch "Always" directed by the great Steven Spielberg and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Holly Hunter, John Goodman,and the final performance by Audrey Hepburn. i hope these two make up for the devils pond.

PS more movies should be made here its a great cheap place to film