Lake Michigan Monster (2018)

Written and directed by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, who also has the lead role, Lake Michigan Monster is a black and white cheesefest that many viewers may well end up outright hating. I really liked it. In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think it may become a firm favourite. Which is odd, because I was slightly nonchalant as the end credits rolled.

Tews plays Seafield, the kind of old-fashioned sailor type who looks as if he enjoys the feel of saltwater splashing his skin and a good smoke of a pipe. Not at the same time, of course. Anyway, Seafield gathers together a team of people he hopes will help him capture the titular monster, a creature that killed his father some time ago. The team includes a former member of the Navy (Dick Flynn, played by Daniel Long), a sonar operator (Nedge Pepsi, played by Beulah Peters), and a weapons expert named Sean Shaughnessy (Erick West). As soon as they get close to potentially capturing the monster, the motives of Seafield are called into question.

With a budget that would probably make even make a young Robert Rodriguez turn pale, a plot as flimsy as service station loo roll paper, and no minimum standard required for any of the jokes zipping across the screen, this will be dismissed by many, or will torture those who give it a watch without being fully aware of what they are letting themselves in for.

Knowing is half the battle though, and if you know what this is then you can, I hope, sit back and enjoy something that has been put together with more love, care, and a desire to genuinely please viewers than a hundred slicker movies from the past decade.

Although a lot of the fun comes from the limited resources, and this requires Tews to either skirt around or emphasise those limitations, nobody involved acts as if they don't have to care about things. Which may seem like a small thing, but it really isn't (not when you think of movies with much bigger budgets that feel much less considerate to those watching).

The acting is in line with the overall tone of the material, the special effects are designed to get by on charm, rather than spectacle, and it's all plotted out in a way that feels nonsensical without making you feel irritated at the ultimate pointlessness of it all (somehow). I struggle to think of why I found this so endearing, while films made with similar intentions sometimes leave me rather cold, and I think it's simply that the humour works. It has a constant sense of absurdity that runs parallel to the central quest, with no individual gag being all that great, or memorable, but each one being added to the next to create a, well, a kind of mural of mirth.

The whole thing clocks in at just under 80 minutes, which makes it an easy choice to fit into your viewing schedule, even it's really 50/50 on whether you end up liking or disliking it. I hope you like it.

7/10

https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews