Devil's Pond (2003)

Too much of everything

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Looks like a mid-week telemovie and stars Tara Reid beginning to regret her recent nuptials to Kip Pardue, after he goes berserk on their honeymoon, turning out to be a grade-A psycho who's been stalking her, grooming her as his prized possession. He seems to develop an obsessive psychosis as he manhandles her around his 'island' (an idyllic setting surrounded by a lake which is useful, because she has a mortal fear of drowning), controlling her behaviour, opinions and generally engaging in ever-escalating forms of domestic violence. Initially surprised, she gradually becomes aware he's not the man she thought he was, by which time, it's too late and she must fight fire with fire in order to escape "devil's island".Momentum is present, the gradual escalation too, but the film never quite manages the "psychological thriller" for which it appears to be aiming. Tara's make-up and hair never seem to match the ferocity of Kip's brutal attacks, his creepy, emotionally detached persona done reasonably well. If you can't cop Tara, or for that matter Kip, then you're in trouble because they're essentially the entire cast, although Meredith Baxter-Birney has a very minor role.I've read that this is an independent film which explains the sometimes amateurish look and feel, though given the film's small scale, this isn't necessarily a deal-breaker. If you can suspend disbelief for long enough to accept the human headline, minor celebrity of Tara Reid attempting a vaguely important role, then this will be sufficient to pass the time.

The plot of this film seemed rehashed from a couple of other thrillers like Misery, The Collector, Single White Female and Sleeping with the Enemy. I give this film a fair rating because I'm an avid thriller fan, otherwise this would be harshly rated.The film has a very standard, unoriginal plot, nearly just like other thriller; A girl is in danger from a guy, and she must try to escape from his clutches, except the location is wholly different, an isolated island.The dialogue comes across as corny at parts. The acting by Tara Reid is pretty awkward at times, but she did a good job. The husband's acting was dull, and I thought him smoking in nearly every scene was annoying and distracting.Although this film is less than 85 minutes, I thought it went for too long. There were some slow scenes throughout. I didn't like how every time she tries to escape and he taunts her, yet she still loves him - though at the end though she fakes it. I mean, from the first fight, she shouldn't even have forgave him. She should've tried to escape from the beginning, really, as there was nothing nice about him.Besides those flaws, the film was pretty suspenseful at parts, which that was helped by the tense and adrenaline pumping score. For a TV film, it did have good scenes of high tension and suspense. It's a fun thriller to watch, although it shouldn't be taken seriously. The whole exotic, yet isolated, setting made it stand out from its predictabilities, clichés and slow scenes. And let's not forget the good direction and suspenseful moments - though it did needed more of those suspenseful scenes.

Well to be honest I saw the previews and the last 15 minutes only. It didn't appeal to me due to the overall dark tone. However while watching the last 15 minutes I did become a bit intrigued as I paralleled the plot to the abusive marriages that so many women must endure in our society today. The physical and emotional abuse that leaves women feeling enslaved by their spouse and their ultimate fear of death if they were to "leave" the marriage/home. I felt the agony, fear, terror, hopelessness while she strategized and struggled to escape. I saw the conflict within the women in the end with she is faced with the prospect of killing her husband yet feeling empathy. I also felt the absolute freedom that must have been felt when she finally did escape....

It's a nice thriller about a couple that goes on honeymoon to a desert little island in the middle of a lake, in the woods, far from everything. In the beginning everything seems to be fine, the couple is in love, as it is supposed to be on a honeymoon, until the day that she wants go back home and he doesn't… then, step by step, she will find out why he did chose that place to spend their honeymoon… The film is reasonably suspenseful, in spite of not having any major twist, and the plot is quite good too. The acting is also fine. Though, this kind of plot isn't really a novelty, so I think I won't score it more than 6/10.