Wolf Lake (1980)

Fantastic!

A lot of fun.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Rod Steiger typically ratchets up the intensity in this interesting revenge thriller from director Burt Kennedy, a filmmaker who mostly made Westerns. Kennedy also wrote this one, about a quartet of WWII veterans who gather for an outing at a hunting lodge. Soon after they arrive, they learn that the regular caretaker is away, and taking his place is a young man (David Huffman), who turns out to be a Vietnam War deserter. Naturally, this doesn't sit well with group leader Charlie (Steiger), a former Marine who lost his son Danny in Vietnam. Things get very ugly before long.I think it's way too bad that some viewers will feel put off by an admittedly slow first half. It's good that Kennedy and company take their time to allow us to get to know these characters, and to not paint them in only broad strokes. Even David, a character whom some in the audience will feel inclined to despise, is not rendered merely one dimensional. You do, however, feel the incredible tension in the environment slowly getting worse and worse, and know that there's going to be Hell to pay as Steiger gives Huffman more than just a piece of his mind. In a sense, the film is largely predictable, but it's compelling nevertheless, and in the end there is not just murder in the cards, but rape as well. David has a sweet, sexy girlfriend named Linda (played by Robin Mattson, who did her share of exploitation features in the 70s and went on to become a soap opera regular).It's all very sobering and very sad, with a grim feeling of inevitability hanging over the entire proceedings.Steiger is great, and gets some opportunities to really sink his teeth into his material and dialogue. Huffman is fine as well. A trio of top character actors - Jerry Hardin ('The X-Files') as worry wart Wilbur, Paul Mantee ("Robinson Crusoe on Mars") as the macho Sweeney, and Richard Herd ("Trancers") as the amiable George - round out the minimal acting ensemble.Although set in Canada, it may surprise some to learn that the film was actually shot in Mexico!Eight out of 10.

A bunch of World War II veterans gather together at a remote cabin in the woods to let it all hang out. Things turn ugly after gruff ex-Marine Charlie (ably played with fierce intensity by Rod Steiger) discovers that caretaker David (a solid and likable performance by David Huffman) is a Vietnam war army deserter.Writer/director Burt Kennedy relates the absorbing story at a steady pace, makes the most out of the beautiful and isolated sylvan locations, builds plenty of tension, and stages the rousing last reel action set pieces with skill and elan. Moreover, the highly charged generational conflict between Charlie and David gives this film a considerable amount of substance and dramatic impact, with both diametrically opposed characters drawn in a complex and sympathetic matter. While Steiger and Hoffman do adeptly handle the bulk of the heavy lifting acting wise, they nonetheless receive sturdy support from Robin Mattson as David's sweet and enticing girlfriend Linda, Jerry Hardin as the easygoing Wilbur, Richard Herd as the jolly, yet lecherous George, and Paul Mantee as the macho Sweeney. Ken Thorne's moody military-flavored score further enhances the overall nerve-wracking suspense. The gorgeous cinematography by Carlos Montano and Alex Phillips Jr. provides lots of breathtaking scenic shots of the striking and misty lakeside setting. A real bang-up little beaut of a sleeper.

"Wolf Lake" is obscure 70's exploitation at its finest: raw & moody atmosphere, straightforward action and real manly actors in the roles of hard-headed chauvinist macho characters! Originality might not be this film's biggest trump, perhaps, but it's intense and unsettling from start to finish and brought to an even higher level by the phenomenal performance of Rod Steiger as the embittered War veteran with outmoded patriotic ideals. Charlie, along with three of his obedient and docile buddies, arrive at Wolf Lake for their annual weekend of duck hunting, poker gaming and whiskey boozing. Their usual contact person isn't there, but they meet with the young caretaker David and his sexy girlfriend Linda. They find out David is a fugitive Vietnam deserter, and this happens to be a very sensitive issue for Charlie, because he lost his son there. To him, all deserters are cowards who're to blame for the downfall of America. Charlie taunts and provokes David, but the posse really goes too far during a wild drinking party. And you know how that goes, once you cross a certain line …. there's no way back. "Wolf Lake" is obviously inspired by the 70's trends of (Vietnam) veterans going mental ("Open Season", "Rolling Thunder") and remote backwoods survival thrillers ("Deliverance", "Straw Dogs"). Writer/director Burt Kennedy may not be Sam Peckinpah or John Boorman, but he undeniably manages to keep his movie suspenseful and creepy. The isolated setting is very effective, for starters, and so are Ken Thorne's pounding score and the unnervingly slow pacing. Some political debate sequences are so intelligent and powerful that it's a real shame that the film remained so obscure and unavailable on DVD. The only really annoying thing about "Wolf Lake" is that the plot stupidly spoils itself the entire time by showing brief but revealing images of vital things happening later in the film. What the hell's the point of that?

Don't you just hate those peace loving, bleeding heart liberals that aren't fit to live in that great land America, let alone serve in her army just to desert? Why, that's like wiping your @$$ with the American flag!!!! Or so thinks Charlie, a patriotic, war-hardened, mysogynistic bully who was a sergeant in WWII and Vietnam (a completely over the top performance from Rod Steiger).Charlie doesn't have much time for David, the minder of the hunting lodge Charlie and his army buddies (cronies) are staying at. David happens to be a deserter and that makes Charlie mad. Mad enough to KILL! This movie is pretty much given away in the first scene, and confusing cut away scenes throughout it also detract from an otherwise OK tale about a guy who just wants to be left alone vs a psychotic old army guy.