There is a line between Straight-to-DVD movies and Theatrical releases. It is not a thin line, and The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond never oversteps its bounds. This is the kind of film one finds playing on the Sci Fi Channel (I refuse to call it “SyFy,” thank you very much) and, upon closer inspection, is better than the typical unambitious fare found on that particular network. The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond has a fun concept, in which a group of attractive 20-somethings are killed off by a supernatural board game, but the filmmakers never elevate the material far enough to justify the film’s limited theatrical run, which places it in unreasonable comparison with more impressive films boasting bigger casts, stronger direction and fully developed screenplays.
If nothing else, The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond is remarkable for having an incredibly long title that somehow reveals nothing whatsoever about the plot. (In retrospect, The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain seems pretty reasonable.) The board game aspect must have made the film an easy pitch – “It’s like Jumanji, but it’s a horror movie!” – but despite a pretty cool-looking board game design the film actually plays more like a supernatural “Truth or Dare,” in which a bunch of attractive characters, played by such horror mainstays like Danielle Harris (Rob Zombie’s Halloween), James Duval (Donnie Darko) and Electra & Elise Avellan (The Babysitter Twins from Grindhouse), are forced to reveal secrets that tear each other part, both literally and figuratively, as by the end of the film the body parts really start to fly.
Unfortunately, the key words there are “by the end of the film.” Despite a brief prologue which attempts to stay the audience’s blood lust, The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond spends the bulk of its running time trying to be “classy,” which is a shame because neither the actors (some of whom are actually pretty talented, like the underused Mr. Duval) nor any of the film’s screenwriters are up to the task of keeping this horror movie interesting without a little sex or gore to pique the audience’s interest. Curse of the Demon this ain’t. Director and co-screenwriter Robert Bologna keeps the pace consistent but the story keeps threatening to give audiences something salacious and doesn’t seal the deal for almost an hour. Tantalizing sex scenes are presented as a possibility but never actually filmed, which implies that either the filmmakers expected a more refined audience than they were able to entertain or that the actors weren’t up to the task. Either way, somebody failed to appreciate the kind of film they were really making: a minor entertainment catering to a crowd looking for simple pleasures of the flesh, be they sensual or excruciating.
The Black Waters of Echo’s Pond never makes the most of itself: All the possibilities that are raised by “It’s like Jumanji, but it’s a horror movie” are pretty much ignored, which is a shame because that’s a strong concept that in more imaginative hands could have been strikingly entertaining. And while the direction and performances are competent (to varying degrees) it never really stands out as a particularly good film. Everything about the production, from the cinematography to the uninspired screenwriting, begs an audience member to cut the film some slack. So for the record, here’s your slack:
You’re just okay, Black Waters of Echo’s Pond, and if you’re ever on Sci Fi you’ll probably look pretty good compared the films following and preceding you. But you also fail to provide the giddy exploitation thrills you keep teasing us with, and you’re never involving enough to work as any other kind of film. Next time, commit yourself to catering to the lowest common denominator… or reaching the highest.
Crave Online Rating: 3.5 out of 10
