Horror Movie Review: Fever Lake (1996)

The most notable thing about Fever Lake is that it stars Corey Haim (The Lost Boys, Silver Bullet) but that is about it. Unless you think Slater (Mario Lopez) from Saved by the Bell is notable.

A dire movie that shows just how lazy and uninspired horror had become in the 90s. The heyday of the madness-driven imagination of the 80s was gone and in its place was cookie cutter blandness starring teen heartthrobs or has-beens. Fever Lake ticks all those boxes and adds a few more just to spite those bothering to sit through it.

There is evil in Fever Lake, we know this because of a wise Native American Indian (Mark Wise – who is not Native American Indian) who spends most of the movie saying there is evil in the lake. It has been the site of murders in the past supposedly related to an ancient curse.

Obviously, no-one would go stay at this lake now. Or at least the locals would do everything they could to stop any potential visitors. Which they do in the tried and tested way of telling our group of partying twenty-somethings to stay away from the lake! Has that ever worked in a horror movie?

These young adults ignore the warnings and head off to a remote cabin on the outskirts of the lake. Guess what happens?

There is so much wrong with Fever Lake it’s down-right embarrassing. The most prominent and one that stays with you afterwards is just how confused and nonsensical the story is. The brief cut written above in no way can prepare you for the absurd idiocy of this movie’s story. It’s filled with plot-holes the size of a crater. A lot of which is caused by the terrible editing job. The movie jumps around as if it’s a kid who has had their first cup of coffee with even less coherence.

Visually it is really unappealing with super-bland locations. As well as some of the most absurd outfits for a supposed group of college kids. Normally that’s not something we’d bother mentioning. However, it’s another thing in a long list of distracting elements that shows how little effort was put into Fever Lake.

Cast-wise, the main group aren’t terrible. Bo Hopkins as the Sheriff, Haim as Albert, Lopez as Steve and Lauren Parker as Sarah are all passable. However, the supporting cast really struggle with having to emote and deliver terrible dialogue.

If you do manage to follow along with the incoherent mess to the end, the payoff isn’t worth it. You’ll bitterly regret spending the time you did watching this.