The Lake on Clinton Road (2015)

Yet ANOTHER cabin in the woods flick, but it delivers the goods RELEASED IN 2015 and written & directed by DeShon Hardy, "The Lake on Clinton Road" chronicles events at the titular lake in remote New Jersey when three college couples go to a vacation home to celebrate. Things go horrible awry when they discover that the rumors of the lake being haunted are real. The low ratings & reviews are inaccurate because this is a cogent cabin-in-the-woods flick. While it may be a low-budget indie with a no-name cast, the acting is convincing and the creepiness & scares are genuine. Moreover, the score is effective (with the soundtrack throwing in some rap sheet). The six youths travel to their isolated destination in typical celebration mode, but their frivolity palpably changes by the second half. People complain that they’re an obnoxious bunch, but that’s not true. They’re just young adults out celebrating. So what? We’ve all done it. The two football guys (Richard Ryker & Anthony Grant) are great masculine role models, disregarding the customary cussing. They have good camaraderie, treat their women well, and don’t abuse the chubby white guy, their amusing pal. Ryker is particularly a strong masculine protagonist. Speaking of the women, the director has a good eye for depicting feminine beauty without getting too tasteless. Leah Jones is mind-blowingly voluptuous while petite brunette Stephanie Marrone ain’t no slouch; nor is the black girl for that matter (India Autry). The bottom line is: The movie works well for what it is. It contains all the requisite staples and works them expertly into an entertaining brew. I’d watch this any day over the cartoonish “The Evil Dead” (1981), the over-the-top comical “Evil Dead II” (1987), the trashy “Cabin Fever” (2002), the lame “Zombeavers” (2014) or the too-creative-for-its-own-good “Cabin in the Woods” (2012). There’s a curiously overlong epilogue tacked-on after the end credits that’s at least three times as long as it needed to be. I think the director just wanted to give some screen time to the two 12 year-old girls in the back seat, who are probably related to him. In any case, it shows a fresh group of giddy youths just before they’re humbled big time; humbled or dead, whatever. THE MOVIE RUNS 1 hour, 20 minutes and was shot in Marlton, New Jersey & Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. GRADE: B+