Nerds That Geek Movie Review – ‘Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys’

Written by Scott Edwards

It is always hard to fit in to a new town, especially if you do not know anybody there. Trying to form new relationships, get others to at least speak to you and not piss off the wrong people, it seems like a never-ending struggle, but somehow people make it through. It is always nice when someone takes a liking to you right after they meet you, but so many others are guarded to outsiders, especially in a smaller community and are looking for any problems that you might be bringing in. It is important to just be yourself and keep out of trouble for the first couple weeks, so people will find out who you are and that you are there to be a part of the community, just like them.

Michael and his family have just moved to a new town and are starting to find out that things may be a little different there. While Michael and his wife are able to get acquainted quickly with some other adults, mainly because of his job with Fish and Game, his kids are having a more difficult time. Kyle feels like an outcast since he is different from the 'normal' kids and Nicole was happy with her friends at the old house and cannot get over the move. Since Michael has been put in charge of the department, he quickly makes peace with his employees and they all seem to like what he has to say, except when it comes to lampreys.

With all kinds of backups from the dam, Michael sees that lamprey population is growing in the little town, but does not know what is causing it. Being able to reactivate all of the measures that usually keep the numbers from being too high, he is still worried that there are more in the waterways. Needing time to get actual counts, Michael tries to delay the opening of the lake, but Mayor Akerman will have none of that since the town needs all of the visitor revenue that it can get its hands on. Knowing that this is a mistake, Michael tries to fight it, but continues to be shot down, but when the population of the lampreys becomes too dense in the lake, he sees that the creatures do not discriminate when they hunt and now they are feeding on people.

Being attacked himself, Michael sees that this breed is more aggressive than anyone could have ever predicted and with their thirst for blood, he sees them jumping the wall into the lake, killing anyone near the water. When his employee Rich is killed by the little beasts, he hears that are problems during the autopsy and rushes to the morgue to find out what is happening. Seeing bloody trails leading into the drain, Michael fears for the worst, the lampreys have made their way into the town’s pipes. Knowing how fast they can reproduce and how aggressive they are, Michael tries now not only to close the lake, but to shut down the water system to the entire town. Not being able to convince Akerman of his plan, Michael turns to Channel 6, who run his press conference so that the public knows what is actually happening and the danger at hand. Stepping over the line, Michael is fired from his post, but when his friends call him for help, he cannot say no and needs to find a way to save the city from certain lamprey doom.

Talk about a threat that nobody could wrap their heads around, these lampreys are blood thirsty little creatures that I would not want to mess with. When their normal food source runs out, they find that people are the next best thing to eat, frightening. Even though this movie is hokey, it does put things in perspective when it comes to politics and our constant fear of the unknown. The characters are fun and stupid at the same time as nobody listens to one word that Michael says during the entire movie. I guess ignorance is bliss in this small town, especially if an outsider tries to tell you what to do. Stay Scared.

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