Connect with us

News

Review: ‘Lake Michigan Monster’ is an Inventive, Crowd-Pleasing Delight

Published

on

Lake Michigan Monster

Lake Michigan Monster is a deliriously fun homage to the classic monster and adventure movies of the 1950s. Every detail is lovingly crafted to create this perfect little capsule of a film that is absolutely soaked with character. As a self-funded microbudget film, the simplistic effects and in-camera tricks add buckets of charm that will make you fall in love with every ridiculous minute.

In Lake Michigan Monster, the eccentric Captain Seafield hires a crew of specialists to help him plot revenge against the creature that killed his father. After several failed attempts, Seafield is forced to take matters into his own drunken hands. What began as a simple case of man versus beast soon plunges down a rabbit hole of mysterious unknowns and Lovecraftian hijinks.

The film has already hit the festival circuit, winning the Audience Award for Best International Feature at the Fantasia International Film Festival in 2019 — and for good reason. In a world of franchises and slow burn atmospheric dread (not a bad thing, mind you), Lake Michigan Monster is a delightful reminder of how joyfully bonkers film can be.

Visually, it’s everything you’d want from a stylized period-inspired genre comedy. With simple sensibilities, at times it’s hilariously low-budget, while others give you that feeling of a surreal drug-fueled fever dream. The VFX and the editing (both done by Mike Cheslik) have a perfect marriage that hits every comedic mark just a little bit harder.

The film stars Ryland Brickson Cole Tews as Seafield, Erick West as weapons expert Sean Shaughnessy, Beluah Peters as sonar whiz Nedge Pepsi, and Daniel Long as former N.A.V.Y. (Nautical Athletes and Venture Yunit) officer Dick Flynn.

It’s no surprise that the film’s dynamic lead, Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, also wrote and directed the film. His performance as Seafield — the self-appointed Captain of this motley crew — is absolutely golden. He’s perfected the line delivery and goes over-the-top to build a precise caricature, but it’s never ostentatious. Tews walks straight up to that line, flirts with it constantly, but never crosses.

If you’re a fan of truly absurd campy comedies, this low-budget marvel is an absolute treat. What Tews and the team are able to pull off is insane and wildly impressive. Lake Michigan Monster has all the makings of a beloved cult classic, with a script laced with whip-smart quips that are shot like a quick-draw gunslinger.

But as goofy as the film is, it shows a mature understanding of — and passion for — the world of cinema. The camera tricks and moments of visual comedy perfectly capture that maverick spirit of the early days of film. It’s inventive, engaging, and consistently fun.

Lake Michigan Monster is — incredibly — Tews’ first feature film, and with all honesty I cannot wait to see what he comes up with next.

 

If you’d like to check it out yourself, Arrow Video will be hosting a 24-hour virtual premiere on AltaVOD on July 31st that comes equipped with an introduction from the filmmaker and a Q&A session featuring members from the cast and crew. Or, you can catch it streaming on The Arrow Video Channel in the UK & US from August 3.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Click to comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

Published

on

In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

News

Woman Brings Corpse Into Bank To Sign Loan Papers

Published

on

Warning: This is a disturbing story.

You have to be pretty desperate for money to do what this Brazilian woman did at the bank to get a loan. She wheeled in a fresh corpse to endorse the contract and she seemingly thought the bank employees wouldn’t notice. They did.

This weird and disturbing story comes via ScreenGeek an entertainment digital publication. They write that a woman identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes pushed a man she identified as her uncle into the bank pleading with him to sign loan papers for $3,400. 

If you’re squeamish or easily triggered, be aware that the video captured of the situation is disturbing. 

Latin America’s largest commercial network, TV Globo, reported on the crime, and according to ScreenGeek this is what Nunes says in Portuguese during the attempted transaction. 

“Uncle, are you paying attention? You must sign [the loan contract]. If you don’t sign, there’s no way, as I cannot sign on your behalf!”

She then adds: “Sign so you can spare me further headaches; I can’t bear it any longer.” 

At first we thought this might be a hoax, but according to Brazilian police, the uncle, 68-year-old Paulo Roberto Braga had passed away earlier that day.

 “She attempted to feign his signature for the loan. He entered the bank already deceased,” Police Chief Fábio Luiz said in an interview with TV Globo. “Our priority is to continue investigating to identify other family members and gather more information regarding this loan.”

If convicted Nunes could be facing jail time on charges of fraud, embezzlement, and desecration of a corpse.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading