Le lac des morts vivants (1981)

User Rating:

2.5/10   

Director:

Jean Rollin

Writers:

Julián Esteban (story)
Jesus Franco (writer)

Release Date:

13 May 1981 (France)

Genre:

Horror | War

Tagline:

God help us if they rise again!

Plot:

In a small village, somewhere in France, German soldiers, killed and thrown into the lake by the Resistance during WW II, come back.

Plot Keywords:

France | Village | Lake | Soldier | Zombie

Cast

Howard Vernon	...	The Mayor
Pierre-Marie Escourrou	...	German Soldier (as Pierre Escourrou)
Anouchka	...	Helena
Antonio Mayans	...	Morane (as Robert Foster)
Nadine Pascal	...	Helena's Mother
Youri Radionow	...	Chanac (as Youri Rad)
Burt Altman
Gilda Arancio	...	Blonde Girl Swimmer
Marcia Sharif	...	Katya
Yvonne Dany
Jean Rene Bleu
Jean Rollin	...	Stiltz
Edmond Besnard	...	Promizoulin
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
René Douglas
Julián Esteban
Alain Petit
Jean Roville
Claude Sendron

Also Known As:

Zombie Lake (International: English title) (USA)
El lago de los muertos vivientes (Spain)
The Lake of the Living Dead
Zombies Lake (Europe: English title)

Runtime:

90 min | Germany:71 min | Spain:88 min | Argentina:89 min | UK:83 min

Country:

France | Spain

Language:

French

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

UK:18 | USA:Not Rated | Germany:16 (heavily cut) | Germany:Not Rated | France:-12 | West Germany:16 | Argentina:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

France

Company:

Eurociné

Trivia:

The medallion which the French girl gives to her German soldier lover is actually a finger rosary; hence the ten small balls around the outside.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When the reporter and the mayor enter the study, the cameraman can be seen in a mirror.

Quotes:

Morane: So, you think that ghosts killed them?
The Mayor: Yes, that is what I think.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Route 666 (2001)

Cheesy as the old "Chiller Theater" movies can get

I give it a 5,because if you are one of the fans of low-budget cheese(some are quite good actually)and 1970s and early 80's zombie flicks,you will get a hoot out of this one. As someone said in an earlier post..so bad its good. One of those type films. The makeup,acting and special effects(especially the bombing sequence)are hilariously bad. However,the scenery is beautiful,the town is a very beautiful little town. Like many of the flicks from this era,the producers went heavy on the nudity and blood factors. This one actually tries to include a zombie love story...LOL. I remember watching this on the old "Chiller Theater" flicks that used to come on in the 70's after the local news. Back then we only had 3 channels so to get any horror film was a real treat. I guess that is why these movies remain popular with my generation(40 years old). We grew up on Chiller Theater which could be hosted by anyone from Elvira to Seymour,ahh..the good ole days..LOL.