Lake Fear 3, an ITN original, is the direct sequel to the award winning Lake Fear and the third in the series released by ITN distribution. The story continues after the events of the first, with Remington returning from the cabin and hunting down the evil that has now escaped.
First and foremost, I need to state that this is a relatively low-budget horror and that fact is obvious throughout the film's entirety. Lake Fear 3 is gimcrack, kitschy, and cheeky. It's humorous and entertaining if you are willing to sacrifice certain standards that you may have come to expect from bigger names and budgets. Once you've lowered your bar on SFX, camera work, and plot, Lake Fear 3 makes for an experience like nothing you've seen before…unless perhaps you, like me, watch these kinds of films as a guilty pleasure.
Remington returns
This film is the absolute epitome of B-grade, indie horror. Hideous (1997) is usually my go-to for what constitutes a perfect B-grade horror, but Lake Fear 3 genuinely does a decent effort at dethroning my long-time favourite — not quite taking the title though, but a respectable attempt. The tongue in cheek humour is what really props the film up; it's so dry it'll give you cotton-mouth. Whilst not an outright comedy, the film cleverly uses common horror tropes in over-the-top ways coupled with deathly serious one-liners to set a tone that is more comical than creepy, but brings all the guts and gore that you’d expect from this genre.
Getting legless in the pub
What really excited me was seeing Joshua Winch reprising his role from the first film. I've seen Winch in a number of B-films lately — most recently Fall of Grace — and I'm really starting to enjoy him and the character he plays. I say character as he's currently a bit of a one-trick-pony, taking on a personality that is part Ash Williams, part Seagal, and part The Undertaker...but it totally works for me and I'd like to see where he takes his demon-busting personality in the future.
When she has that natural glow about her.
Mentioning Ash, the plot is very much akin to that of Evil Dead, with some kind of omnipotent evil force escaped from its bindings and possessing whomever, turning them into deadite-ish creatures. Winch, as Remington, teams up with the gorgeous Chloe (KateLynn E. Newberry) and hack spiritualist and T.V. star Vincent (Devi Khajishvili) to return the evil to its source; the cabin from the original. They make for the worst of teams and the ridiculous banter between them is cringy at times, but genuinely part of that dry, self-aware humour I mentioned earlier, including this crazy animated sequence that looks as if it were done in flash.
…and I’m all out of bubblegum…
I'm not going to go into great detail when it comes to the technical aspects of the film, honestly because most of the technical details aren't all that great. Some of the soundtrack was pretty decent, with the one song in particular at the start actually so good I tried to look up the band, but to no avail. The film boasts some of the strangest editing concepts I've ever seen used, which I guess is good a good thing; pushing the envelope and all that.
“Hey, my eyes are up here!”
In conclusion, Lake Fear 3 is, if nothing else, entertaining. You can see the passion despite the obvious budget constraints and the crew did well to deliver something fun, frightening (I’m ashamed to admit that I jumped once) and full of laughs. If you are looking for some good, B-grade horror that knows what it is and isn’t ashamed strut, give the film a chance. If you are looking for the next installment in the Conjuring franchise, then this one definitely is not for you. Catch the trailer below and as always, stay sordid.
