The Monster of Phantom Lake (2006)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Christopher R. Mihm

Writer:

Christopher R. Mihm (writer)

Genre:

Comedy | Horror | Sci-Fi

Tagline:

The Unspeakable Horror that Menaced the Fate of the Human Race!

Plot:

A mutated monster terrorizes campers in the woods of 1950's Wisconsin.

Plot Keywords:

Monster | Mutated | Professor Jackson | Phantom Lake | Lobo

Cast

Josh Craig	...	Professor Jackson
Leigha Horton	...	Stephanie Yates
Deanne McDonald	...	Elizabeth
Brad Tracy	...	George
Lindsey Holmes	...	Penny
Justen Overlander	...	Jonathan
Rachel Grubb	...	Amy
Michael Cook	...	Gustav (as Mike Cook)
M. Scott Taulman	...	Sven
Dustin Booth	...	Toady Man
Michael G. Kaiser	...	The Monster (as Michael Kaiser)
Mike Mason	...	Lobo / Michael Kaiser
Christopher R. Mihm	...	Gruff Man

Runtime:

USA:97 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:Not Rated

Filming Locations:

Arden Hills, Minnesota, USA

Company:

Saint Euphoria Pictures

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Terror from Beneath the Earth (2009)

Great campy fun!

This is an independent movie filmed in Minnesota. It's a fun take-off of 1950's B-grade monster movies and was deliberately campy fun. Filmed on a budget of probably about $8.00 (and most of that was likely gas money), it satirizes the stilted dialog, cheesy special effects, and hokey plots that have made 1950's era monster movies timeless guilty pleasures. It even has some appropriately corny music added. Shot in black and white, the entire film takes place in the woods near a lake, and starts with some workers illegally dumping "atomic waste". Predictably, some highly implausible biological responses result. Equally predictable, are the set of teenage victims who first discover the "monster". Fortunately, the unflappable Professor Jackson is on the spot with his not-so-secretly adoring graduate student assistant. Needless to say, it was a hoot. After the movie, some of the cast was in the lounge to mingle with the audience and to sell the DVD and posters. (The poster was free with the purchase of a $10 DVD and yes I bought it.)

Almost as much fun, were the 1950's newsreel clips shown before the movie, as was the custom then. They showed, in order, newsreel footage of violence in the Middle East, a grim old couple celebrating their 75th wedding anniversary, and a knife-throwing Mom using her kids in her hobby. All-in-all, it was a fun movie that I highly recommend.