Cabin by the Lake (2000)

A screenwriter, who lives in a cabin by the lake near Los Angeles, drowns young women, then goes back to visit their bodies and do their laundry.

Director:

Po-Chih Leong (as Po Chih Leong)

Writer:

David Stephens (as C. David Stephens)

Stars:

Judd Nelson, Hedy Burress, Michael Weatherly

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Judd Nelson	...	Stanley
Hedy Burress	...	Mallory
Michael Weatherly	...	Boone
Susan Gibney	...	Regan
Bernie Coulson	...	Duncan
Colleen Wheeler	...	Lauren
Cam Cronin	...	Clayton
Bob Dawson	...	Sheriff
G. Patrick Currie	...	Logan
John Destry	...	Melvin
Guy Jellis	...	Deputy
Rebecca Reichert	...	Babette
Marnie Alton	...	Brooke
Jennifer Carmichael	...	Tiffany
Barbara Pollard	...	Hotel Manager

Storyline

A screenwriter does research for his new script by actually kidnapping and drowning young girls. He then places them in his "garden" of other dead girls coming back daily to check on them. One girl narrowly escapes and the other bodies are found leading to an ingenious plot to try and capture the killer.

---

Plot Keywords:

suntan pantyhose | screenwriter | lake | drowning | camera shot of feet | 

---

Taglines:

Most writers bring their characters to life. He brings his to death.

---

Genres:

Horror | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some terror/violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Stanley seems to be writing his screenplay in past tense. Unlike novels, which can be written in a variety of tenses, screenplays are always written in present tense. He also lists the acts, which would only be accurate if he were writing a made-for-TV movie. Feature film screenplays do not list the acts.

---

Goofs

When Mallory & Regan are thrown from the boat with their hands tied behind them, you can clearly see Regan put her hand out to steady herself as she "jumps in".

---

Quotes

Stanley: [to Kimberley] If you have to go to the hospital, you don't want to be caught wearing dirty underwear.

---

Connections

Followed by Return to Cabin by the Lake (2001)

---

Soundtracks

Cure
Written by Frankie Blue
Performed by Angela McCluskey & Wild Colonials (as The Wild Colonials)
Courtesy of Studios USA (BMI)

User Reviews

Very good for tv...

Even if you did not enjoy this movie, you must admit it is far better than most of the mindless drone that passes for a tv movie (i.e. the entire Lifetime channel rotation). Most all tv movies are atrocious but this was the type that was good in a bad way. Judd Nelson was absolutely perfect as Stanley, nailing even the campiest of dialogue. You could compare his believability to that of William Petersen's in 'Beast'. You can only judge an actor by how well they play in a terrible movie. The rest of the cast I really could do without, but they only serve to make him look better. Also, the water scenes were painfully beautiful in a sick way...

I would have to disagree with the commentator who said Stanley's killing for research was implausible. Au contraire, If you write screenplays, like I do, you can understand that. No, we generally do not become serial killers but on the whole we can be very irrational about the lengths we go to to achieve our goals. We really are all crazy ;-)

And to the commentator Tom: The drowning of girls was not meant to be humorous. And please do not get offended because, let's face it, you are not a woman...

Details

Country:

USA Canada

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 February 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cabin by the Lake

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Foxtail Productions Inc., Great Falls Productions, Original Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Color:

Color