Creature from Black Lake | 
 enlarge |
Actors: Karen Brooks (ii), John David Carson, Jack Elam, Dennis Fimple, Cathryn Hartt
Studio: United American Video
Category: DVD
Buy New: $18.99
New (3) Used (7) from $7.93
Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 19013
Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 97
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
UPC: 084296403417
EAN: 0084296403417
ASIN: B00007M5I5
Theatrical Release Date: March 1976
Release Date: December 3, 2002
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: 5 Star Seller!!**OUT OF PRINT** Brand New & Sealed- Official US Release, Region 1, Not an Import or Bootleg- Ships within 24 Hours- Excellent Customer Service, 100% Guaranteed- Buy with Confidence...
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 Tragic legacies for the great Jack Elam and Dub Taylor August 8, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I actually do hate being critical of any horror film because, as a genre, such flicks tend to catch a lot of unwarranted negative comment and there are truly some really superb ones.... in this instance we are NOT discussing one of those superb ones. In fact, Creature from Black Lake might just be the worst horror entry ever produced because it doesn't even achieve the sometimes revered distinction of a "cult film" such as Spider Baby or Plan 9 from Outer Space. I'm a huge fan of horror and sci-fi movies (especially the older films) and films such as this one simply arm certain critics with more ammunition to bash the genre, which is my biggest complaint here.
So what makes this film so incredibly egregious? Allow me to first make some general observations and then I'll enumerate the specific problems.
This movie was clearly the brainchild and dream project of one Jim McCollough, Jr., who evidently envisioned this film as a vehicle to launch his writing, acting, and music career on to the fast track. After seeing Black Lake, I was prayerful that the reverse was the case but I checked around and he did evidently produce another film in 1994, St Tammany Miracle, (yet another horrific film where Steve Allen took the hit as the star actor). Apparently either this young man's sire, Jim McCollough [Sr.] must have funded the Black Lake project, or, McCollough just dropped the "Junior" thing so that the film credits wouldn't look quite as ridiculous, (it didn't work), ergo:
Producer: Jim McCollough
Screenplay: Jim McCollough, Jr.
[Character] "Orville Bridges" played by: Jim McCollough, Jr.
"Exits and Truck Stops" composed by: Jim McCollough, Jr.
"Exits and Truck Stops" sung by: Jim McCollough, Jr.
"Exits and Truck Stops" played by: Jim McCollough, Jr.
And so on.
Here's the story in a nutshell: Two naive Alpha-male students of the University of Chicago get all excited about their professor's convincing lecture detailing "Bigfoot Creatures" and they decide to head south and invade the bayou to verify a report of one such monster. The citizens of this backward, one-hoss town are quite unenthusiastic about the young men's objectives and they are warned off the project in various ways, including a direct threat by the local sheriff. They finally locate one person who's willing to talk about the region's dark secret, "Orville Bridges," (played by Jim McCollough, Jr.!), who directs the two to his home, out in the swamp (Black Lake?) where he lives with his maternal grandfather (played by Dub Taylor, a superb, well-known actor) and grandmother. Orville relates the story, to the two students, of his mother whom had been indirectly killed by the creature, so the Bridges family remained very loath on any discussion that revived this tragic episode.
From there, the boys experience a few brushes with this local "Skunk Ape" and the movie continues to deteriorate from this point. One sub-plot is that the pair pick up a couple of local gals who are lauded as raving beauties (a redhead, the Sheriff's daughter, whose overall attractiveness is so-so while the second girl is an outright homely blonde) -- of course, the Sheriff catches them all in a somewhat compromising situation at the boys' campsite just as an encounter with the monster ensues, all of which works out badly for the boys. I won't go further on with the story as the prospective viewer can pretty much envision the subsequent laborious film footage.
The casting for this film, Jack Elam and Dub Taylor excepted, is horrific. This is surely the most dreadful group of actors ever assembled for ANY purpose. The worst of the lot is Dennis Fimple (!?!?!) who plays "Pahoo," the more gregarious of the two students and the story's chief protagonist.
The dialogue was written by a conversationally-challenged person (now, WHO was that again?). Here's a tired line from the scene where the boys are initially driving south in their van: [Pahoo] "Gas... gas!" [Rives] "Thanks for warnin' me." (Knee-slappers which are equivalent to this one plague the remainder of the film).
The camera work was carried out on a student level, albeit the opening footage of the bayou is fairly scenic. The film was directed by Joy N. Houck, Jr. (I never heard of a guy named "Joy" but I'm certain that there's plenty that I've never heard of), a fellow who also owned a string of about 200 movie theaters throughout the southern U.S. I can't say too much bad about him in particular, given the script and actors with whom he was un-empowered -- he actually did garner the most from Elam and Taylor who, despite the script, played out their roles to the best that could have been achieved by anyone.
The monster in this one is a bit of an enigma. This Bigfoot is sort of a semi-amphibious one, this aspect being revealed in an opening scene where it dislodges its first victim from a small johnboat down into the depths of the swamp, the critter being re-viewed a few frames later walking away on to the spotty dry land in the bayou. So, I guess that I'm saying that such amphibious activities really do not square with my own limited Bigfoot knowledge... I suppose that in horror films one is permitted some level of artistic license. But this underwater nuance did strike me as a rather strange and unnecessary caveat, perhaps having been installed for the sole purpose of fulfilling one's expectations of the movie's title.
As a weak final defense of the film, one might assert that this flick was meant to be a tongue-in-cheek exposition; however, not even that rationalization will fly as they really tried to make the monster and his intermittent appearances seriously scary. So, there goes that one!
Creature from Black Lake, produced in 1976 (lots of period bad haircuts!), is shot in color, the aspect is full-frame, and it runs for a grueling total of 90 minutes. I own the "Silver Series" edition on DVD, a product of Boulevard Entertainment and distributed by Alpha Video.
There's little need for me to continue beating this dead horse so, in summary, I'll just point out that this is a tragic entry in the horror genre of film-making and I can only say that I feel particularly sorry and sympathetic for Jack Elam and Dub Taylor that they, for whatever reason, found themselves inadvertently defamed a little of their fine reputations by having sadly included themselves into this mud-pumper.
Not recommended.
 If you like Bigfoot you can't go wrong!! October 30, 2007
This Movie is a classic and should be honerd with an award of some sort . If you like Bigfoot movies, then this is a must have. You can't go wrong with charicters like the old squirrely drunkin trapper or Pahoo the hamberger loving antherpology student. Trust me this movie will make for some laughes and maybe even a scare or two. I know I've been enjoying for about 20 years.
 great movie May 23, 2007
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
this iz a really good movie. actings good. tha only flaw iz tha picture. itz watchable tho. this iz a classic. i highly reccomend this for anybody into old school monster flicks.
 Classic Bigfoot B-movie flick of the 70's - There's just something about it February 10, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I like this movie. Come-on, Dennis Fimple is in it, he's a piece of work! And for the record, a previous reviewer had the names mismatched, Fimple played Pahoo, John David Carson was Rives.
Fimple kept pretty busy in the movie and TV business. You might recognize him most recently as Grandpa Hugo Firefly in Rob Zombie's House of 1000 Corpses (2003), but he played small rolls in many movies over the years, and appeared in many TV show episodes, including ER, Quantum Leap, The A-Team, The Fall Guy, The Dukes of Hazard, and many others, even Petticoat Junction and Green Acres back in the late 60's. Sadly Dennis Fiimple passed away in August of 2002, of natural causes, shortly after finishing his work on House of 1000 Corpses.
John David Carson is a familiar face of film and television as well, having appeared in episodes of Hawaii Five-0, CHiPs, Charlies Angels, The Fall Guy, Eight is Enough, Barnaby Jones, and many others, including a small roll in the 1990 film Pretty Woman.
Carson plays the cool, good looking half of the duo, but Fimple has some sort of appeal, even though many might consider him less than attractive. Heck, one of the young vixens in the film even shows interest in him.
Jack Elam portrayed town drunk Joe Canton. Elam's career spanned 6 decades, beginning way back in 1944 with Trailin' West. You may remember him as the cooky-eyed Doctor Nikolas Van Helsing in The Canonball Run (1981), or from a host of other films and TV shows throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. Elam passed away in October, 2003.
Creature from Black Lake is not the worst production I've seen, and once played out the story is actually pretty good. Fimple is cast perfectly for this roll, and creates a likeable character as Pahoo; comical, yet somehow vulnerable, and we find out how well this actually works at setting us up for a shock later in the film.
The creature noises are creepy enough, the scenes are shot well, and the acting is pretty good for the most part. It was originally shot in a widescreen format, cinemascope or something, because the version reproduced for the DVD features the infamous pan-and-scan trick to get characters into frame. Of course the title sequences are all squeezed in there in order to make all the words fit on a standard TV screen, so everything looks stretched and tall. Maybe someone will decide to release this again in a widescreen format on DVD.
Next to The Legend of Boggy Creek I'd have to say this is my favorite Bigfoot film of that era. In fact, aside from Harry and The Hendersons, which wasn't a thriller, any other Bigfoot movie I've seen was just okay. This movie has a certain quality about it which makes it fun to watch, entertaining and spooky at times.
If you're looking for a classic Bigfoot film, complete with eerie, dark, Louisiana bayou scenes, and a giant beast lurking in the shadows, I suggest you pick up The Creature from Black Lake. It's actually a pretty good film.
a very good b-movie December 17, 2006
The first time I watched this film was at night, in the dark with everybody else in the house asleep. Thats how I would recommend watching this film. I have heard some bad reviews about this film but you have to remember this film was done in the 70's during the whole bigfoot rage. Most people know what they're in for when they get this film. A great popcorn movie that will scare the bejeezus out of you under the right conditions...lights off, quiet, and alone in the room. I highly recommend this film for a good fright. Just remember the film makers had a very small budget, but they pulled off a very convincing scary little flick. I would rate this film one star above boggy creek.
|
|
|
|
