Lake Artifact Review
Lake Artifact is a 2019 feature film written and directed by Bruce Wemple. The review screener of this film was sent courtesy of Midnight Releasing.
A film that provides a lot of mystery and intrigue in the first act, which just isn’t able to resolve much at all by the close, Lake Artifact has some solid moments but they are too far in between by the rolling of the end credits.
To start with the visuals of the film are done well here, the cinematography in the film proper have solid contrast, with some striking moments. However, the aspect that really hampers those good visuals is the jerky editing, which just never finds a good pace. In some scenes it became awkwardly frenetic, while in others the cuts seemed to just lack motivation.
The tonal shifts felt at odds too. Going from a rising tension to a complete 360 over to mild comedic moments within a few moments. The film was in essence undercutting itself in moments that if left alone could have carried more weight.
The acting here is good with the brightest standout being Anna Shields as Megan who brings a lot of development to her character which at first seems destined to be only the party girl stereotype of the movie. Another nod goes to Thomas Brazzle as Tommy who really tries to do the best with the material he is given, but can not escape the 90s cliché lone African American character that existed in far too many horror films of the 90s and 2000s, it really feels like an outdated remnant of a bygone era of filmmaking.
The story which touches on multiverse theory has some interesting threads it goes down and really up until the point where it tries to explain itself does a fantastic job at building up mystery. The pieces are all going on top of one another and the game of trying to figure things out will surely dance around in your head.
Once the final act starts properly, though nothing adds up here, really. The poor editing really takes hold and nothing feels resolved. Not wanting to spoil things it can just be said that where we end up is not necessarily a bad thing by any means but the last moments don’t really give much justification for whether the ride was worth it.
Lake Artifact may look pretty on the surface and as you dive deeper may find that some story beats are really thought provoking. However, the more that the film tries to explain itself and become irrevocably convoluted the less enjoyment there will be.
Lake Artifact was sent courtesy of Midnight Releasing.
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