Trailer—Wolf Lake

source: Wolf Lake

Wolf Lake

Steiger has never let me down as an actor. Always intense and rivetting, he shines in Wolf Lake. As far as the plot goes, however, you have to wonder why Huffman would let slip to ANYONE that he had been a deserter, let alone to the confrontational, hard-as-nails Steiger. Furthermore, I find it a stretch that Steiger's three buddies would have been as criminally compliant as they were made out to be. After all, they were no longer officially under his command from their presumed, mutual Vietnam stint. Inexplicably, when Huffman and his girlfriend flee their cabin, he foolishly leaves his rifle behind while realizing Steiger and his cronies are in deadly pursuit. Only when Huffman and his girlfriend manage to double back, does he retrieve his gun. If the film was indeed shot in Mexico as is claimed, why did the producers go to the trouble and expense of flying down that Cessna seaplane (Canadian registration number CF-TEQ) when they could easily have filmed in Canada?

A movie where World War 2 veterans are psychopathic murdering rapists and the Vietnam War deserter is a hero. Tons of babbling 70's era liberal rhetoric. I guess the more things changed the messages stayed the same. And that's just the underlying problem with this movie. Never mind that the plot moves way to fast. Meh. Some of it was entertaining while managing to be almost simultaneously annoying. Watch for yourself and see what I mean.

Don't you just hate those peace loving, bleeding heart liberals that aren't fit to live in that great land America, let alone serve in her army just to desert? Why, that's like wiping your @$$ with the American flag!!!! Or so thinks Charlie, a patriotic, war-hardened, mysogynistic bully who was a sergeant in WWII and Vietnam (a completely over the top performance from Rod Steiger).Charlie doesn't have much time for David, the minder of the hunting lodge Charlie and his army buddies (cronies) are staying at. David happens to be a deserter and that makes Charlie mad. Mad enough to KILL! This movie is pretty much given away in the first scene, and confusing cut away scenes throughout it also detract from an otherwise OK tale about a guy who just wants to be left alone vs a psychotic old army guy.

I watched this first and didn't quite catch the just of it. So mom and i watched it and she explained it to me. I understand now why this had such a divided audience. Its very simple to me now. A deserter is at this lake with his chick and Steiger, Mantee and others go up there and find out and on and on. I love Mantee, for a # of reasons. Steiger i never cared much for. I did not like how it ended. Dad was in Vietnam. I'm glad i got this after he died because I'm sure it would have offended him, as it did me after i was told the just of this. I believe the deserter and his chick should have both died. Glad the chick was raped. But Dad was in "Nam so therefore maybe my opinion should not matter?

A generational gap as wide as the Grand Canyon between Marine Veteran, Rod Steiger, and Army deserter, David Huffman leads to unpleasantness in the remote Canadian wilderness. After Steiger, and his three hunting buddies overpower Huffman, and rape his girlfriend, Robin Mattson in an almost comatose performance, this becomes your standard hunters vs. hunted film. In places "Wolf Lake" is very talky, which really drags things out for 105 minutes. A lot of the night photography is barely discernible, and other than Steiger, none of the characters are developed satisfactorily. Very annoying flash forwards, reveal way too much information, and basically ruin any suspense. Average at best, and a disappointment. - MERK

Every one who has seen Peter Collinson's OPEN SEASON will notice some similar elements here. Vietnam war vets, a remote cabin near a lake, hunters, a poor couple between all of them.... This film is however a bit more interesting and less gratuitous in the violence than the Collinson's feature, and also DELIVERANCE of course. Each character has motivation to act and to commit violence. This is somewhere a social, psychological thriller, not a horror, survival slasher as masterpiece DELIVERANCE was for instance. Rod Steiger is excellent here, in this role seemingly made for him. I also thought of Serge Leroy's LA TRAQUE, same DNA too.

Ex-commander Steiger and three of his army buddies go to Canada for a little duck hunting.Steiger,grieving for his son lost in the Vietnam War, gets ballistic when he finds out that Huffman,who's running the camp,is a deserter.A violent shootout occurs as Steiger and his friends go after Huffman and his girlfriend Mattson with tragic results."Wolf Lake" plays like an exciting mix of "Deliverance","Straw Dogs" and "Open Season".It's a tense and extremely well-acted survival thriller with some great scenes of violence.The shootout begins after the rape of Huffman's girlfriend.So if you are a fan of survival cinema you can't miss "Wolf Lake".It's a crying shame that such obscure Canadian movies are still unavailable on DVD.9 out of 10.