Nerds That Geek Movie Review: ‘Lost Lake’

Written by Scott Edwards

​In this day and age, it seems like it is impossible for someone to go missing, but it still continues to happen all of the time. While some of the times the person can be found on reality television or returning from a long weekend camping trip, there are still people getting lost and/or abducted and their cell phones are of no use for them. This is a frightening thought when you really get into it and while I am not a fan of putting a tracking chip in a child, it could prove helpful if they ever go missing, even for adults. While the world continues to get smaller every day, there are still places that cannot be located for one reason or another and these are the places where we are led to assume the missing wind up.
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Waking up in a cold sweat after having a nightmare about her uncle, Tricia is having a hard time figuring out why he has not called her. Having asked him to give her away at her wedding, Tricia wants the fun older man to make his way back to the real world. While nobody else in the family has heard much from him since his trip to Lost Lake, Jeff is willing to give up a day and try to make his fiancé’s dream come true. Loading up the car for a day trip, the two make their way into the desert to find Uncle Vern in one of the strangest ghost towns they have ever encountered.

Stopping at a local gas station before making it to Lost Lake, the young couple is given a warning about the old town, in that they shouldn’t stay there for too long, because it does not have any facilities and also because, it is haunted. Taking this advice with a grain of salt, the couple pushes on to the ghost town to see how bad it really looks. Not knowing the real history of the town, much less when it was vacated by the residents, the couple drives through not being able to find any signs of life. Stopping outside of a house that looks to be in better shape, the couple heads inside to check it out and while it seems to have been lived in recently, they are still not able to find anyone to talk to. With strange sounds coming from outside, the couple checks it out and while Jeff moves deeper into the town, Tricia keeps a lookout in the house and sees an old woman following them. Not seeing the old woman that Tricia spotted, Jeff chalks it up to her imagination playing tricks on her and the two retreat to the car for further investigation.

Driving deeper into the new ghost town, Tricia spots a truck that appears to be her uncle’s. Getting out and trying to find where the old man could be hiding, the couple spots what appears to be a murder scene, but before Jeff is able to figure out what they are seeing, Uncle Vern appears out of the woodwork. Taking his niece and her fiancé up to his house for a bite to eat, Vern is very excited to see Tricia and wants her to stay in the town to try and get the definitive footage that the old ghost hunter needs to prove that there really is life after death. Agreeing to stay for a couple hours, the couple has no idea what they are in for when they break protocol and decide to leave during the one time a year that a ghost walks the streets of Lost Lake.

Staring off all nice and cheery and then taking a turn towards the darkness of the soul, wow, I must admit that I was blown away by the total 180 spin Uncle Vern took when he realized that his niece was going to leave him during the ghost hunt. The fun relationship between Tricia and Jeff was really put to the test, especially after they found out that Uncle Vern was not willing to let them leave. I really wish that they went more into the town’s history and what really led to the demise of the area, but you are given a ghostly story about what happened way back when, so that could explain some of it. With a search for a relative, a Lost Lake, a sinister past, a pissed off sister, a snake, a shovel, some missing spark plugs and the need to never be alone, not a bad little movie to keep you wondering what is happening in the desert. Stay Scared. ​

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