Lake Artifact (2019) User Reviews

There's probably a timeline where this movie is good

[Shemhamforash666 · 5/10 · 4 July 2020]

Oh boy. What to say on this one. I'm leaving it a 5 and it's almost painful to do it because the moments that are great in this movie really are great but the ones that aren't significantly drag it down.

As you've already seen in other reviews, this movie deals with separate timelines. It does it in a way that is somewhat unique and I appreciate what writer and director Bruce Wemple set out to achieve, but it feels like he either didn't quite understand his own concept or didn't have the time to flesh it out. Where most indie movies could use some time shaved off of them, this is a rare example where I feel like we could have easily had another 15 to 20 minutes added on to really develop this story, or maybe we could have lost the nearly 20 minutes of "buildup". I appreciate a story taking its time in the beginning for character development but this bit did little for developing its characters and until the end their characteristics are nearly indistinguishable.

The cinematography is another thing that aggravated me throughout because at times it was simply splendid and at others it was painful to look at. How do you get something so right in one moment and so wrong at others? This question is the one I found myself asking with so many pieces of this puzzle.

The one thing that is never off course is the acting. Bravo to every performer in this movie, as they all did very well in their respective roles and the performances all felt natural and comfortable.

Overall, this isn't a terrible movie by any means. It has some genuine humor and some legitimately frightening bits to it as well. At times the differing styles don't always mix the way they should but there was only one moment where it completely took me out. I can't decide if this movie was too ambitious for its own good or not ambitious enough, which is also strange. This entire thing it a conundrum that I would neither recommend for or against.

I'll be interested in seeing where Wemple goes from here.

All Mixed Up

[targetlad72 · 4/10 · 8 January 2020]

I like films that mess about with time, space, etc BUT this just messed up. Even now I am looking at my '4' rating thinking it could be a '3'. Similar films that cleverly worked for me are Convergence & Triangle. I thank you.

Only the writers and director would make sense of this !

[andrewcollins-86653 · 3/10 · 10 March 2021]

Well to say this is utterly nonsensical would be an understatement! I can imagine the confusion from the filmmakers at the meetings with cast and crew having to constantly explain what number loop they are in on any particular day ! The ending, well what can I say, by this stage the viewer would have a brain ache and be on the gin !

Only One, But Multiple Timelines....... Huh.

[wandernn1-81-683274 · 4/10 · 3 July 2020]

I do like scenes nowadays where people are walking along train tracks all in bloody clothes. Reminds me of mid-series Walking Dead episodes where the train tracks were all so relevant to the story. But that's how this opens....

And then I suppose we regress, backwards in the story.......

-1 Star for the dumb beer drinking 'dance' scene...what lame music was that anyway??? Derrr............

What was with the weird water bottle drinkage? I've never seen a human drink a bottle of water like that.

Okay so when they find a picture of the group of them that they had not taken YET, is when the hilarity begins.........

-1 Star when the 2 idiots go outside to LOOK for 'the guy' Huh? Poor acting, poor dialogue. Poor story choices......

Then the story gets bizarre, dreams, walking in circles..... lots of confusion. And one female character goes off the rails really for no apparent reason.....

This whole place is a loop TOMMY!!!!!!

+1 Star for when Black dude screams like a girl lol I think the hilarity that was the last few minutes of the movie saves it from the toilet bowl really.

If ever there was a case for why a man wandering thru the woods should always carry a case of BEER with him, this is it.

4/10

We have a new drinking game!

[graham-tillotson · 3/10 · 23 July 2020]

Ok so gather up some friends and make popcorn and get a bottle of quality whiskey. Every time someone says "You want a beer?" take a shot. If you are at the pro level you can take an additional shot every time the editor drops in that ridiculously loud can opening sound (thankfully we are spared the follow-on loud swirly pouring into a glass). When you can't take it anymore - which won't be long - switch over to Triangle and watch a real movie.

Token Black Guy

[lindo-julet · 1/10 · 5 July 2020]

To be honest, I was incredibly distracted the entire time by the token black character. SO CLEARLY there for a comedic relief and effort to make the white stars look better. You know, the job of the token. He appears so....out of place in this friend's circle, i wonder if the actor felt the same way (but of course glad to have gotten cast). As a black woman myself, I HATE seeing tokens. SHAME on this director, please be more mindful next time. When there's only one black guy in the group having the comedic relief, silliness, this is offensive. And corny. And pointless. That one black dude didn't make your movie diverse or a nod to diversity at all.

Scotby Dooby Doo, This film is POO.

[donttouchmeprimate · 3/10 · 17 January 2020]

30 minutes. That's when the film actually starts, and when it does, it's a mess and feels very much like a live-action Scooby-Doo episode. The plot is set around a cabin/plot of land where time is in a constant loop and everything that can is and ha's happened, that make sense? Sort of? Yeah well so does this film. The concept itself is nothing new as there are lots of versions of this type of story out there.

I can't help but feel as though this film tries to come across smarter than it actually is and that the writers had an idea for an ending of the film and kind of wrote backwards from there with no real direction. I get the concept, I understand who is who and what is going on so PLEASE stop explaining everything to me several times.

Plot holes; It's all one big plot hole really. The 'connecting of dots' to unravel the great mysteries and the 'big reveals' either make NO SENSE and are seemingly thrown in there for reasons I can only imagine were thought up by the creators breathing in their own farts, OR they were painfully obvious ages before it was explained.

Characters motivations; Aren't any. Seriously, The only person who made any sense was Timmy and even he had zero development. Everybody else has moments that set up a sub plot or story arch that go no-where and just leave you scratching your head on confusion (looking at you especially Megan)

And finally, I honestly could not tell if this film was attempting to be a comedy half of the time, a large portion of the acting and dialogue actually gave me a real belly-laugh because of how silly and satirical it came across.

Having said that, I've just ordered a McDonald's from Uber Eats, so it's not all bad.

You need your thinking head on, but it's a good movie.

[ListenToChris · 7/10 · 9 January 2020]

I enjoyed this film from the opening credits right through to the end. It's nicely photographed and well acted. Certainly the story contains some challenges for the viewer - at the start of the film information comes in from all angles, but stay with it and it assembles into a good story.

It's trash

[tashnigroeners · 1/10 · 1 April 2021]

It's just a horrible film, absolutely HATED Tommy's character! Let's al be honest he was just used for a bad comic relief, which absolutely horrible may I add.

This might be my first review

[amitchmcleod · 8/10 · 8 July 2020]

I don't leave IMDb reviews because I've never quite seen the point. Full disclosure: I'm leaving this because somebody left a review on my own film who also reviewed this and in checking it out I wanted to share my own thoughts.

No, this isn't a perfect film by any means. That said, I want to commend the writer/director for tackling such a subject on what I can only assume was an exceptionally low budget.

My biggest complaint here would be that I feel we didn't have enough time to shape the characters here and that's a big one in a character driven piece such as this one. I would have liked to see them all fleshed out, because I came to the point of almost caring about their individual plights but not quite.

The cinematography on a low budget is mostly superb and the acting is as good as it gets. It's an intelligent take told for less than what it deserves, and I highly recommend it for anybody who wants a good story and can be forgiving of the nature that inevitably comes with a low budget. Either way, I'll definitely be checking in on this director to see what comes next.

Decent sci-fi outing

[susieqeisus · 6/10 · 15 September 2020]

What you have here with this movie is a nice effort that doesn't let its low budget hinder its production quality. The movie is directed and shot very well and the actors are outstanding in their roles. The score is basic but it manages to do the job it was intended for. If I have one complaint with this it would be the script. It isn't bad by any means at all but it feels like the concept could have been explored just a little better for a slightly more coherent story, even if it feels like ambiguity was intended. Ambiguity and coherence don't have to be mutually exclusive and this movie would have benefited greatly from the latter.

Still. I can't say that the minor flaws take away from an enjoyable and somewhat unique sci-fi experience.

Can I give this zero stars?

[think_pink-15888 · 1/10 · 30 July 2020]

I have never watched a more horrible movie in my 40 years. There was no movie! Just cuts. What the heck did I just do with my life? It wasn't just wasted minutes , it was wasted energy of time and space. Time and space belonging to us all, to all matter of existence.

How many More!!

[john-dav · 1/10 · 14 August 2020]

Yet another cabin in the woods pile of drivel. How many more of these films do we have to suffer before the producers realise they've milked this particular cow to death. I pity the actors who have to make such films. If you can last through till the end, I admire your fortitude, I couldn't stop yawning!

Not for me

[delores052 · 3/10 · 10 March 2021]

So many movies with a group of friends. Writers have done this plot from A to Z. Some deep thinking writer thought he would make a masterpiece. Nope. Hard to follow. Not for me.

Fancy a beer. Waisted potential

[lopezpatricia-06139 · 3/10 · 14 April 2021]

Putting aside the abysmal acting especially by THOMAS, this film had potential. However there was a number of scenes that could have expanded on the whole time loop sci fi affair. The interviews at the start hold a lot of the key to it but unfortunately left to the imagination by the end. What's a bit annoying is the constant 'do you want a beer' with the loud ring pull sounds. And the loud American 20somethings whooping and screaming as they do.

The box of unlimited beer

[preaypr · 4/10 · 11 March 2021]

Strange film, badly executed premise with one seemingly unlimited supply of beer.

Good Film...a little confusing

[bangel3322 · 7/10 · 29 July 2020]

This film is very similar to Mine Games (2012) if not almost exactly the same, but this is better acted and the story more interesting. I just feel like it could have been a little longer and explained a little better. This type of storyline is quite complex and it needs to be explained properly.

And I do not agree with the review about the 'token black actor'. I think the actor Thomas Brazzle was fantastic and very funny. It's not often you get good acting in these low budget horrors and I think he was brilliant. The actor Dylan Grunn was also amazing. Two fine actors there.

Coherence meets Triangle

[gressman07 · 7/10 · 27 September 2020]

Watched this on a complete whim from Tubi, not expecting much. But time paradox/manipulation movies have always been a niche of mine.

The songs used are few and far between, but used to great effect (if you're into that style, granted.) 20 mins in and we've met our cast, some drunken college times have been had, and things are set to take a turn for the strange.

I wont get into details, but felt by the end most of my questions had been answered. The movie contains some elements of other time Paradox notables (Coherence, Triangle, and a dash of Time Crimes), not that I'd view this as a bad thing. And it finds it's own sort of take on it all by the end.

The movie made incredible work of what I imagine is low to no budget. And for what I assume is a cast of unknowns (think I recognized one), I felt they worked adequately, and if anything their less known status made them seem more "real" and authentic (IMO).

I try to limit reviews lately, I am no "professional critic" nor pretend to be, but felt compelled to say those into films like COHERENCE and TRIANGLE may, I hope, enjoy this and entertain adding it to the still rather niche realm of time Paradox movies

7/10 for me, rises above neutral/lukewarm (5) and slight positive (6).

Average movie, great actors

[skamarakasliutauras · 6/10 · 9 February 2020]

For how bad the plot and the idea was, Thomas Brazzle and Dylan Grunn characters and performances were great.

Very interesting

[clownsrule-88642 · 9/10 · 9 August 2020]

I'm giving this movie a 9 because it's actually a great movie for being possibly low budget. And one thing that never happens in horror movies happens. I can't say much more because it would all be a spoiler.