It's a fairly decent movie, a little draggy, but why don't they buy some lights if they want to be in the business? The good parts, you just watch a practically black screen and can't figure out what's happening.
21 Reviews
Slow Irish low budget drama
surfisfun14 March 2021
Needs a better script, better sound, better direction and someone to pay the electric bill!
ron-400-65050330 October 2021
Why are so many modern films shot in the dark with such poor sound? You need a decent sound system to equalise the the sound so you can hear speech and and drop the music (especially the bass). The concept is good but delivery, as others have stated, is slow. Why did Tom have to be "emotionally disturbed" why did his mum have to look more like his sister. I managed to stay with it only because I had hoped for a good ending, it was predictable.
The Old Mutton Place
lavatch23 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
"The Winter Lake" was one of the most unpleasant film viewing experiences imaginable. The gist of the story is the relocation of a mother and son to a rural family property. The mother and son encounter a father and daughter, who are their neighbors. The narrative reveals an unspeakable atrocity in the past lives of the neighbors.
Elaine and her son Tom move into the old home known locally as "The Old Mutton Place." It is a dilapidated, ramshackle farm house, and the mother and son seem embittered towards one another. The countryside seemed especially bleak, and there was some unexplained mystery of the strange currents in the "winter lake."
Into the lives of Elaine and Tom come the dour neighbors, Ward and his daughter Holly. At the lake, Tom makes the grisly discovery of a skull and some skeletal remains. He comes to learn that a baby was drowned intentionally by Holly and that the father was Ward.
The most ghoulish scene in the film was the handling of the skull and Ward's vicious attempt to recover it and destroy the evidence. The ending of the film was especially clumsy without revealing what happened to both Ward and Holly. Did he drown? Did she escape? Did any of the viewers even care?
Elaine and her son Tom move into the old home known locally as "The Old Mutton Place." It is a dilapidated, ramshackle farm house, and the mother and son seem embittered towards one another. The countryside seemed especially bleak, and there was some unexplained mystery of the strange currents in the "winter lake."
Into the lives of Elaine and Tom come the dour neighbors, Ward and his daughter Holly. At the lake, Tom makes the grisly discovery of a skull and some skeletal remains. He comes to learn that a baby was drowned intentionally by Holly and that the father was Ward.
The most ghoulish scene in the film was the handling of the skull and Ward's vicious attempt to recover it and destroy the evidence. The ending of the film was especially clumsy without revealing what happened to both Ward and Holly. Did he drown? Did she escape? Did any of the viewers even care?
FAIR
HumbleMensa19 September 2021
This is a slow drama, with a very particular style to it. Some will like it and some will fall straight to sleep. I finished it, but can't say I would watch it again. You really sort of have to understand the mentality of the lifestyle where it takes place. A couple of creepy moments.
Ending?
j_p_bedard13 June 2023
Movie all along is pretty well with a great enigma. Characters do a great job acting and keep us into suspense all along the movie.
There a couple times where there could be a deeper dive into the main subject and cause.
Near the end of the movie where it all unravels we get the picture of what could have happennwd bit nothing too clear and finally it leaves us with a bitter taste.
Please dont expect much of it. Watch movie only if you have no other option over an evening's time.
The end really wastes it all with no clarification of what really happened. Only the writer knows really. But kept it a secret.
There a couple times where there could be a deeper dive into the main subject and cause.
Near the end of the movie where it all unravels we get the picture of what could have happennwd bit nothing too clear and finally it leaves us with a bitter taste.
Please dont expect much of it. Watch movie only if you have no other option over an evening's time.
The end really wastes it all with no clarification of what really happened. Only the writer knows really. But kept it a secret.
A good drama. A terrible thriller.
PsychoBeard6662 August 2021
Talk to me
nogodnomasters16 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Tom (Anson Boon) is an extremely broody teen to the point of being dysfunctional. His single mother (Charlie Murphy ) moves into her Irish grandmother's home when she passes. Ward (Michael McElhatton ) is the single father neighbor with an outgoing daughter Holly (Emma Mackey ). Holly does not like her father. Tom discovers (early plot spoiler) a skeleton of a murdered new born in the nearby lake. Not too hard to figure out where this is going.
The quiet character of Tom was deliberate but far from entertaining. This is another me-too film on the topic.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
The quiet character of Tom was deliberate but far from entertaining. This is another me-too film on the topic.
Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.
7/10
shannon-bill28 March 2021
Do not waste ur time
passomagh11 March 2021
Very good
Itajaideal5 February 2022
A movie about motherhood according to Jung. Two pasts, two mothers and their decisions. An original approach rarely seen in cinema. Nice external shots and a script with little problems. On stage, highlight for the Anson Boon's work.
Powerful drama
willg-8758912 March 2021
A slow, boring, depressing build to a predictable ending.
rochfordsimon18 March 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Decent cast and plenty of funding. Mark McKenna (Wayne on YouTube) is a great young actor thats wasted in this film. Another boring and dull Irish film thats more about an agenda than an entertaining story.
Single English mother moves to west Ireland with an oddball son. Their neighbours are a single dad and his easy kinda daughter. He threw her baby in the lake years ago and the boy finds it. Then they try to get the bones back. Long and overdrawn. And predictable.
All badly written and structured characters in this film. Not nice people. But somehow there is tons of villians in a yarn with depressed, alcoholics, pillheads, bullies, dubious teenagers and unfriendly town folk. So what this film tells me is that Sligo County residents are evil, Ha ha.
Single English mother moves to west Ireland with an oddball son. Their neighbours are a single dad and his easy kinda daughter. He threw her baby in the lake years ago and the boy finds it. Then they try to get the bones back. Long and overdrawn. And predictable.
All badly written and structured characters in this film. Not nice people. But somehow there is tons of villians in a yarn with depressed, alcoholics, pillheads, bullies, dubious teenagers and unfriendly town folk. So what this film tells me is that Sligo County residents are evil, Ha ha.
Dull
gab-6759912 March 2021
I sped up the movie and still missed nothing important. Despite the very THICK accent, which made it impossible to understand what they were saying at all!
I enjoyed the story and I kept waning to know what would happened next, but by the end wished I had never watched it in the first place.
Do not waste your time seeing this, it was not worth it, I promise.
no need to watch
emreseler11 March 2021
About movie
mehrshadghn18 September 2021
very underrated
10Rezza108 April 2021
Dark and compelling thriller
gerardgibney15 April 2021
I really enjoyed this movie from start to finish. The storyline is dark, yet compelling and as the story unravels you get more invested in it as you start to learn more about each characters flaws. Well written, directed and only complaint would be it ended too soon!
Sherin directs
sjanders-8643031 July 2021
Warning: Spoilers
This film works on every level. The story is dealt with brilliantly. The boy and his mother return to a remote home where her grandfather lived in a big old house by a river. In a new house next door lives Holly. She and her father had a baby that they threw in the water. Tom the troubled boy finds the skeleton of the baby and saves it away in a box under his bed. The girl cries and tells him about her awful father and asks him to kill her dad who has abused her for years. The dad tries to kill the boy in the water. The mother saves him. The dad is dead. The daughter goes off with her boyfriend. The mother and son leave that place.
Compelling and very real ...
Director_DondiWood30 October 2023
With all due respect to others who saw the film, expecting more action or adventure, The Winter Lake was never billed as either.
For me, this story is a well crafted tragedy with hints of mystery that never get fully resolved.
The film is about four main characters: A single mom with a son and a single dad with a daughter. They are connected, unwillingly and unwittingly by fate which set them all on a collision course that lands them in an unspeakable dilemma.
It is very intense, not recommended for younger audiences, save those who grew up to soon from an unfortunate upbringing.
I highly recommend this film.
For me, this story is a well crafted tragedy with hints of mystery that never get fully resolved.
The film is about four main characters: A single mom with a son and a single dad with a daughter. They are connected, unwillingly and unwittingly by fate which set them all on a collision course that lands them in an unspeakable dilemma.
It is very intense, not recommended for younger audiences, save those who grew up to soon from an unfortunate upbringing.
I highly recommend this film.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
