Watch House by the Lake
- NR
- 2017
- 1 hr 17 min
-
3.7 (505)
House by the Lake is a 2017 horror/thriller film directed by Adam Gierasch and starring Natasha Bassett, Mark Berry, and Michael Bowen. The movie's setting is a secluded lake house in the Southern United States, where a family moves in after inheriting the property from a relative. The main character, Gina, is a writer who relocates to the house with her husband, Adam, and young son, Lucas. The family is hoping the change of scenery will help them recover from a recent tragedy, but things take a dark turn when they discover a mysterious locked room in the basement.
From there, House by the Lake becomes a slow-burn thriller with hints of the supernatural. As the family begins to uncover the secrets of their new home, tensions rise and relationships begin to fracture. The film's pacing is deliberate, with a creeping sense of dread building up as the story unfolds.
Despite the fact that most of the action takes place in the titular house, Gierasch manages to keep things visually interesting with creative use of lighting and camera angles. The lake itself also plays an important role in the story, serving as a site of both beauty and terror.
The performances from the cast are generally quite good. Bassett brings a subtle vulnerability to her portrayal of Gina, while Berry's Adam is convincingly troubled. However, the standout performance comes from Michael Bowen as the family's neighbor, Alex. Bowen gives a layered and nuanced performance that manages to be both sympathetic and unsettling.
One of the film's strengths is its exploration of grief and the ways in which it can drive people to desperate acts. House by the Lake doesn't shy away from the messy emotional realities of loss and trauma, which helps to ground the story even as it veers into more supernatural territory.
Overall, House by the Lake is a well-crafted horror/thriller that manages to balance its supernatural elements with grounded human drama. It's not a jump-scare fest or a gore-filled splatterfest, but rather a slow-burn exploration of grief, trauma, and the dark secrets that can hide beneath the surface of even the most idyllic settings.
House by the Lake is a 2017 horror movie with a runtime of 1 hour and 17 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 3.7.