Wolf Lake

Given that the movie takes place in Canada, and with producer Melvin Simon having dabbled with the Canadian tax shelter system, you might have reason to believe WOLF LAKE is one of the outputs Canada made during its tax shelter period. Especially since it happens to be a thriller taking place in the backwoods. Surprisingly, though, the credits reveal that the movie was in fact shot in Mexico!

While the premise of the movie may seem somewhat familiar, even though I can't think of any movie with a plot that's *exactly* like this one, it does have some exceptional elements, part due to writer/director Kennedy, a veteran western director. (In fact, some parts of the movie do resemble a western.) The production values are really strong, boosted no doubt by the ability to squeeze more value out of a dollar in Mexico, and the camera placing and other directional touches are very professional. Kennedy manages to give this lakeside setting an unsettling feeling, a sense of the threats to come.

Kennedy also handles the cast pretty well, though all the actors seem well prepared and up to the challenge. The acting is really good, due in part that Kennedy gives the actors dialogue that fleshes out their characters. Steiger, no surprise, towers over everyone. Though his character is a villain whose eventual behavior can't be excused, you really sense the grief his character has been suffering for years - a grief that has eaten him up and filled him with poison. He's a frightening character even before crossing the line, because his behavior is so believable.

The movie is not perfect, though. The biggest flaw is that (at least in the version I saw) there are flashforwards in the first half of the movie that manage to spoil almost *every* major happening in the second half. (The second half has a flashBACK to a previously unseen event, which makes as much sense as those flashforwards!) Also, it takes over half of the running time before the crisis actually starts!

Incidently, the movie runs only 87 minutes, which is a pretty short running time. Given that short running time and those confusing edits, there's a chance the movie's slow (though not boring) first half panicked the investors and resulted in some drastic changes. Apparently the movie was re-released a few years later in its original form as THE HIGHEST HONOR, which I would like to see and compare. Maybe some enterprising DVD company could re-release the movie on that format, with each version on a separate side of the DVD. It's not as if the rights for such an obscurity would cost that much.

Wolf Lake (1980)

*** (out of 4)

War buddies Charlie (Rod Steiger), Wilbur (Jerry Hardin), George (Richard Herd) and Sweeney (Paul Mantee) head up to Canada for a weekend getaway like they do every year. This year they notice that the cabins are being taken care of by David (David Huffman) and Linda (Robin Mattson). It doesn't take long for Charlie to start messing around and picking on David but things turn much darker when the men find out that David dodged the war.

WOLF LAKE is a film that not many people saw when it was originally released and I doubt too many people have seen it since. In fact, had I not stumbled across it during a sale then I probably would have missed it as well and that's really too bad because it's a rather interesting, if flawed, thriller. What makes the film work and especially in today's times is its views on how people should treat their country and we also get some fabulous performances.

It should go without saying that it's Steiger who steals the picture with yet another wonderful performance. The actor really has to show off pain and anger and he does so wonderfully. The way Steiger mixes both the anger and pain to explain why his character is the way he is really helps sell the film. The supporting players are all extremely good as well and that's especially true for both Huffman and Mattson.

The film basically starts off as a weekend getaway picture before turning much darker once the friends learn about David's past. Even then there are some interesting ideas being floated around about what it means to serve your country and love it. I do think things take a turn for the worse during the final third of the picture when we basically have everyone lose their mind and so some things that I just didn't believe would happen. I'm not going to ruin anything but Charlie basically makes the three other do a very criminal act and I just didn't believe they would have gone through with it.

With that being said, it's really too bad WOLF LAKE isn't a better known movie but it's certainly a gem that needs to be rediscovered.

Plots like this have been done before; and done better in some films, but that doesn't stop Burt Kennedy's little known thriller 'Wolf Lake' from being a very well done and constantly intriguing little thriller. The film is not perfect; there are pacing problems and a series of annoying/confusing flashbacks that break up the narrative; but it also features some strong characters and an interesting plot line with some ideas that actually do hold some weight. The film takes in themes of patriotism, vigilantism and vengeance, and fuses it with a thriller narrative. The base of the plot is very simple and centres on a wood cabin by the side of a lake known as 'Wolf Lake'. A group of war veterans turn up for a week of shooting, drinking etc, but find the cabin being looked after by a young man named David and his girlfriend. One of the group discovers that David is a war deserter and warns him that all hell will break loose if the leader of the group were to find out about it. He then goes and tells the leader (?), and all hell breaks loose.

The film stars Rod Steiger and the actor gives a real powerhouse performance and is definitely the best thing about the film. His character is the most complex in the film; and even though his actions are extreme, they are justified and Steiger manages to make the role believable; which is testament to his acting talent. The film is rather slow to start although this time is used well in building up the plot line and characters. We get a good impression of the central players early on and this makes the film more involving by the time we get to the inevitable conclusion. The location used is excellent in that it creates a real feeling of loneliness for the central characters; they really are out in the middle of nowhere with no chance of help coming for them. The central plot and the problem between the two main characters are open for debate, and also give the audience plenty to think about. Overall, while this film does have some flaws; it's still an excellent thriller and it's very unfair that this is so little known! See it if you get the chance.

A trio of American World War II vets take a hunting trip in the rural Canadian woods where they find out the American caretaker of the place they are staying is a Vietnam deserter (David Huffman). Thanks to a lot of alcohol and the influence of the embittered, flag-waving leader of trio (Rod Steiger), what starts out as a mere "generation gap" political disagreement, quickly escalates into a violent, armed conflict.

Rod Steiger is excellent as the vicious leader of the veterans whose blind patriotism and narrow-minded prejudices leave almost everyone in the cast dead by the end. His more weak-willed friends are only along for the ride at first, but they too are quickly caught up in the escalating violence. And adding no small amount of fuel to the fire is Robin Mattson, as the Huffman character's sexy girlfriend. Playing an only slightly more sympathetic variation on the malicious tease she played in her most famous film "Bonnie's Kids", her character takes her showers outdoors, even with all the drunken, dirty old men lingering about, and when she catches Steiger staring at her bra-less chest, she tauntingly lifts up her shirt to give him a better look at her yummy breasts. This is not to say she deserves what happens to her--the tragedy here is that all the characters are actually sympathetic to SOME extent, even if only Huffman approaches ever really being too likable.

With several gun battles, a gang rape, a wilderness chase, and lots of explosions, this works pretty well as a violent action movie. But it is one of those dark, cynical 70's ones like "Deliverance", "Southern Comfort", or "Who'll Stop the Rain?" that show only the ultimate futility and stupidity of violence. Definitely recommended, especially to fans of Rod Steiger, Robin Mattson, and/or downbeat 70's-era action fare.

My review was written in July 1984 after watching the movie on Prism video cassette.

Made in 1977-78 as an early entry from Melvin Simon Productions, "Wolf Lake" is a tortuous melodrama, not saved by a strong Rod Steiger performance. Picture received a very limited theatrical release under the title "The Honor Guard" from Filmcorp and is reviewed here for the record upon its availability in home video format, reverting to its original moniker.

Writer-director Burt Kenney tips his hat here in the direction of his 1960s contemporary Sam Peckinpah (at least one key scene recapitulates latter's "Straw Dogs") in this desultory tale of the sour feelings left on the home front after the Vietnam war. Pic is set in Canada in 1976 (though oddly filmed in Chihuahua, Mexico), where Vietnam deserter David (David Huffman) is living at Wolf Lake lodge with his girlfriend Linda (Robin Mattson).

Four hunters trek to the lake for their annual outing, led by Charlie (Rod Steiger), whose son Danny was killed in Vietnam. When Charlie and his rifle-toting pals find out David is a deserter, there's hell to pay.

Dreary format has the inevitable climactic violence delayed by pointless scenes of verbal parrying and some worthwhile (perhaps for excerpt purposes) bravura monologs by Steiger expressing the bitterness of flag-waving Americans who saw youngsters avoiding or deserting from the military service while their kids were toeing the line. Biggest mistake here is that all the violent payoffs, including killings and a gang raper, are telegraphed repeatedly by flashforwards and even a senseless prolog that turns out to be the pic's final scene inserted at the outset. This structuring turns everything into an anticlimax.

Outside of Steiger, pic has little to offer, with dull thesping by the rest of the cat and meager technical contributions.